Way clear for expansion of port of Antwerp

This afternoon 13 parties will declare their agreement with the "Alliance for the future and viability of the surrounding area of the port of Antwerp, the polders on the left bank of the Scheldt". This is an important breakthrough in the dossier on the future of Doel, and a reconciliation between the preservation of Doel, nature, heritage and the continuation of extra container handling capacity in the Antwerp port area.

The compromise states that Doel will continue to exist and will be given a future perspective with various functions, including housing. There will be measures to increase the viability of agriculture in the region and to value the landscape and heritage in Doel. The harbour operation will be buffered in relation to the surrounding polders. There will also be guarantees for residential areas in the polders. In return, the new tidal dock can be operational seven days a week and 24 hours a day.

The previous government reached an agreement in 2018 on the expansion of container capacity in Antwerp, via the infill of existing docks, complemented by the development of one side of a new tidal dock. In this way, the polder village of Doel could be spared.

The action group Doel 2020 agreed with this development, but several other organizations went to the Council of State, because there were few hard guarantees for the liveability of the region. The non-profit organisations 'Erfgoedgemeenschap Doel en Polder' and 'Polder van het Land van Waas' each submitted a request for annulment and the non-profit organisation 'Landbouwgemeenschap Wase Polder' and the Kerkfabriek van Doel did so jointly.

The auditor of the Council of State advised to destroy the plans for the port expansion, because there are too few guarantees that the expansion would not have a negative impact on a number of natural areas, due to nitrogen deposition. The dossier was then transferred from Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) to Finance Minister Matthias Diependaele (N-VA). He called the port and the action groups back around the table last summer.

© BELGA PHOTO - Illustration picture shows Flemish Minister of Finance, Budget and Housing Matthias Diependaele pictured during a plenary session of the Flemish Parliament in Brussels, Wednesday 23 March 2022.