Connecting the World

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Connecting the World CONNECTING THE WORLD CITY OF BRUGES ENG _INTRODUCTION Bruges has a long maritime history which goes back to the Middle Ages. Medieval Bruges was the meeting place par excellence for traders from all over Europe. Unfortunately, the economic growth came to a halt in the 15th century with the silting of the Zwin region. Thanks to the development of an open seaport at the Belgian coast in the 19th and 20th centuries the city has regained its nautical window on the world. Bruges, with its port of Zeebrugge, constitutes today an economic and logistic growth pole for the 21st century. Zeebrugge, or Bruges by the Sea, is a young seaport with modern port equipment suitable for the largest ships. The present structure of the port dates from as recent as 1985. The emergence of the roll-on/roll-off techniques, the contai- nerisation and the increase in the scale of the ships convinced the Belgian government to develop the coastal port into a deepsea port. An extensive outer port, a new sea lock with entrance to an inner port, gave Zeebrugge a new impulse in the years that followed. As a result total cargo traffic rose spectacularly from 14 million tons in 1985 to 47 million tons today. Zeebrugge belongs to the range of ports from Le Havre to Hamburg, which together handle more than a billion tons of cargo a year. Almost every product the consumer finds in the shops, comes through these ports. Zeebrugge has become, in barely a couple of decades, an important entry port for the European market. Zeebrugge has developed itself into a versatile port, which not only focuses on European roll-on/roll-off ferry traffic. Zeebrugge is also important for intercontinental (container) traffic, feeder traffic, conventional loads, liquefied natural gas, cruises and last but not least the traffic of new cars. In this section Zeebrugge is one of the largest car handling ports in the world. The unit loads, roro and container traffics, take up three quarters of the total cargo throughput. Zeebrugge is a coastal port and guarantees sufficient water depth in the access channel and along the quays, by a result of which the continually larger container ships can be loaded and unloaded at any time. This competitive advan- tage means that the largest shipping companies in the world have Zeebrugge on their sailing schedule. Also several world-renowned container operators have invested substantially in the port infrastructure. The port offers an average of 25 daily departures chiefly to the United Kingdom, but also increasingly to Scandinavia, the Baltic region and Southern Europe. In combination with a wide range of intercontinental services and good hinterland connections, Zeebrugge is especially suited for international companies to organise their European or worldwide distri- bution. In the meantime, quite a few companies have invested considerably in logistic centres. From here they add value to their cargo prior to distribution throughout Europe. The port has grown from a pure transit port to a logistic platform during the last decades. The role of Zeebrugge as engine of the regional economy is growing. Today more than 20,000 people have a job, directly or indirectly, thanks to the port. 47million TONS/2020 _TRAFFIC UNDER THE MICROSCOPE » ROLL-ON/ROLL-OFF TRAFFIC Zeebrugge plays a prominent role as a roll-on/roll-off port within Europe. More than 1.3 million trucks pass through the port every year. Daily more than 25 cargo vessels leave for the United Kingdom, Northern and Southern Europe. Due to the congested European roads more and more traffic on the North-South axis finds its way by maritime transport. This has resulted in an increase in shipping routes from Zeebrugge to Scandinavia and Southern Europe. 14,2 million tons were handled in 2020. Zeebrugge has specialised vigorously in the transport of unaccompanied trailers and 45’ containers. Almost 90% of all roro freight crosses without the accompaniment of a driver. The last couple of years, the intra-European ferry traffic has been marked by a growing share of containers. An important part of the roro traffic is the handling of new cars, agricultural machinery and excavators. The incre- ased traffic in new cars is a result of the globalisation of the world economy. Production centres are now spread all over the world, by a result of which much more transport is needed to get the products to the customers. Intercontinental car operators make good use of the various intra-European services in Zeebrugge to distribute their rolling cargo all over the world. The cars and machines are being adapted in the logistic centres to suit the local markets. These logistic activities (stock management, storage and assembly activities) create quite a lot of employment and embed the traffic in the port. With an annual volume of 2.2 million new cars, Zeebrugge is one of the largest car handling ports in the world. The port has 400 ha parking space available for the car traffic. 2,191,299 new per year » CONTAINER TRAFFIC The mass transport of cargo is increasingly done by containers. The sector is in explosive growth because it constitutes a cheap and safe type of transport and because a container can easily be shifted from one transport mode (ship, truck or train) to another. Zeebrugge is a fairly recent player on the container market. The coastal port offers weekly container liner services to the Middle and the Far East. The shipping companies deploy the largest container carriers on these Europe/Asia trade route. The port is part of an exclusive group of ports that offer sufficient water depth at all times for the contemporary, colossal container carriers. At the moment Zeebrugge can handle ships with a loading capacity of no less than 20,000TEUs (TEU = standard container having a length of 20 feet or 6 meters). The shipping companies can rely on the high productivity and flexibility of the dock labourers to load and unload the containers in record time. These assets pave the way for fu- ture growth in Zeebrugge. Large intercontinental container vessels are handled at CSP Zeebrugge Terminal, which is equipped with ultramodern container gantry cranes. As a result of reorganisations by the major alliances of container lines deepsea traffic has been on the increase in Zeebrugge during the last year. As a result of the scaling-up of the container ships many containers must be transported from Zeebrugge with smaller ships or feeders to their final destination in the United Kingdom or Northern and Southern Europe. In this respect Zeebrugge is developing into a genuine container hub. Other containers go to the hinterland by truck, block train, estuary barge or inland barge. With estuary ships large volumes of containers can now be transported to the estuary of the Western Scheldt, via a short sea route. The ship then sails further towards Antwerp and the European network of inland waterways. » BULK GOODS In addition to the unit loads, Zeebrugge handles 14 million tons of dry bulk and liquid bulk cargoes annually. The dry bulk mainly consists of materials for the building industry such as sand and and gravel. Also grain, fodder and fertilizers are handled here. The liquid bulk consists of liquefied natural gas (LNG), petroleum products and molasses. Liquid gas comes from, among others Siberia and the Gulf State of Qatar. In the reception installation of Fluxys it is turned back into gas for the Belgian market. Also the Norwegian and British gas fields are connected to Zeebrug- ge via pipelines, the “Zeepipe” and the “Interconnector”. This gas is distributed all over Europe. Today, LNG ships not only discharge, but also load natural gas. The second LNG jetty can receive small, medium sized and large LNG ships, as well as regasification vessels. Zeebrugge has grown into an important gas distribution platform, which meanhwile provides 15% of the West European gas market. » CONVENTIONAL CARGO In the inner port companies specialize in labour-intensive niche-markets such as the handling and storing of pe- rishables (fruit and deepfrozen products), wood pulp, steel, etc. These breakbulk goods are loaded and unloaded conventionally with (mobile) grab cranes. The breakbulk sector generates a great deal of employment (storage, stock management, handling, packaging and regrouping of goods). Zeebrugge is increasingly developing into a real European ‘food hub’. The excellent air quality of the coastal area is ideal for precious cargo such as food products. The Border Inspection Post – an integration of customs and the Federal Agency for Food Safety - attracts new food traffics too. The transportation of food products with reefer containers is a growing trend which is anticipated by the port. INTERCONTINENTAL CONNECTIONS Osaka Nagoya Incheon Yokkaichi Hitachi Busan Pyeongtaek Kobe Yokohama Omaezaki ZEEBRUGGE Masan Higashi BELGIUM Toyohashi Gamagori Tacoma Portland Halifax Newark New York Philadelphia Xingang Port Hueneme Baltimore Richmond Long Beach Charleston San Diego Savannah Brunswick Shanghai Houston Jacksonville Ningbo Galveston Xiamen Port Manatee Xinsha Yantian Nansha Hong Kong San Juan Manzanillo Veracruz Lazaro Cardenas Pointe-à-Pitre Puerto Quetzal Fort-De-France Acajutla Corinto Laem Chabang San Lorenzo Cartagena Vung Tau Puerto Caldera Balboa Port Klang Singapore Esmeraldes Papeete Manta Guayaquil Suape Callao Rio de Janeiro Iquique Portocel Noumea Santos Port Reunion Paranagua Brisbane Rio Grande Durban Fremantle Port Kembla San Antonio East London Sydney Zarate Port Elizabeth Melbourne Auckland Nelson Tauranga Napier
Recommended publications
  • Economic Importance of the Belgian Ports : Flemish Maritime Ports, Liège Port Complex and the Port of Brussels – Report 2006
    Economic importance of the Belgian ports : Flemish maritime ports, Liège port complex and the port of Brussels – Report 2006 Working Paper Document by Saskia Vennix June 2008 No 134 Editorial Director Jan Smets, Member of the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Belgium Statement of purpose: The purpose of these working papers is to promote the circulation of research results (Research Series) and analytical studies (Documents Series) made within the National Bank of Belgium or presented by external economists in seminars, conferences and conventions organised by the Bank. The aim is therefore to provide a platform for discussion. The opinions expressed are strictly those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bank of Belgium. Orders For orders and information on subscriptions and reductions: National Bank of Belgium, Documentation - Publications service, boulevard de Berlaimont 14, 1000 Brussels Tel +32 2 221 20 33 - Fax +32 2 21 30 42 The Working Papers are available on the website of the Bank: http://www.nbb.be © National Bank of Belgium, Brussels All rights reserved. Reproduction for educational and non-commercial purposes is permitted provided that the source is acknowledged. ISSN: 1375-680X (print) ISSN: 1784-2476 (online) NBB WORKING PAPER No. 134 - JUNE 2008 Abstract This paper is an annual publication issued by the Microeconomic Analysis service of the National Bank of Belgium. The Flemish maritime ports (Antwerp, Ghent, Ostend, Zeebrugge), the Autonomous Port of Liège and the port of Brussels play a major role in their respective regional economies and in the Belgian economy, not only in terms of industrial activity but also as intermodal centres facilitating the commodity flow.
    [Show full text]
  • Port of Zeebrugge Is Located in the World’S Most Densely Populated Consumer Area So Your Importing And/Or Exporting Partner Is Never Far Away
    DEDICATED FOOD PORT THE F OOD SECTOR Infrastructure Food cargo travels in many ways: in containers or RORO freight loads, in bulk or reefer ships. That’s why multiple installations for the reception, handling and storage of perishables are found in the port area. What’s more, the Port of Zeebrugge is located in the world’s most densely populated consumer area so your importing and/or exporting partner is never far away. CSP reefer C.RO roro P&O roro Pittmann Seafoods Acutra BIP European Food Zeebrugge Food Center (fish) Logsitics Borlix Zeebrugge ECS Breakbulk Terminal 2XL Flanders Cold Center II Flanders Cold Zespri Center I Belgian New Fruit Wharf Tropicana Tameco Seabridge Verhelst-Agri* Voeders Huys* Seaport Shipping & Trading* Group Depré* Oil Tank Terminal* *Agrobulk terminals located in the port of Bruges C ONCEPT Intercontinental food cargo We know that sensitive reefer cargo and frozen food transport and warehousing deserve a dedicated approach. That is why we have brought together all the official authorities involved with perishable cargo in our Border Control Post (BCP). In this specialised centre, veterinary clearance, customs and maritime police all work under the same roof to speed up the clearance of your cargo, which is completely segregated from other food cargo to avoid contamination with products. In the Port of Zeebrugge, your container can be dispatched to the market while the vessel is at berth; the food cargo can make its way to your customers or be temporarily stored in our deepfreeze warehouses. ContinentalContinental Europe Europe & & UK UK cargo cargo Food cargo originating from the EU travels freely within the unified European market.
    [Show full text]
  • Relationships Between Container Terminals and Dry Ports
    Relationships between Maritime Container Terminals and Dry Ports and their impact on Inter-port competition Master Thesis within: Business Administration – ILSCM Thesis credits: 30 Author: Robert Castrillón Dussán. Supervisor: Leif-Magnus Jensen Jönköping May 14, 2012 INTENTIONALLY BLANK i Acknowledgement _________________________________________________________________________ I would like to thank my supervisor Professor Leif-Magnus Jensen for his support and guidelines. I also want to thank Per Skoglund for his advice and interesting thoughts. Additionally, I want to express my appreciation and gratefulness to all the respondents from the container terminal and dry port industries. Special thanks to the interviewees and respondents of Gothenburg and Jönköping area for their time and valuable contribution to this study. May 2012, Jönköping Robert Castrillón D. ii INTENTIONALLY BLANK iii Master Thesis in Business Administration - ILSCM Programme Title: Relationships between Maritime Container Terminals and Dry Ports and their impact on Inter-port competition Author: Robert Castrillón Dussán Tutor: Assistant Professor Leif-Magnus Jensen Date: 2012-05-14 Subject terms: Container terminals, dry ports, relationship assessment, customer /supplier interaction, inter-port competition, inland integration of port services _________________________________________________________________________ Abstract Globalization of the world’s economy, containerization, intermodalism and specialization have reshaped transport systems and the industries that are considered crucial for the international distribution of goods such as the port industry. Simultaneously, economies of location, economies of scope, economies of scale, optimization of production factors, and clustering of industries have triggered port regionalization and inland integration of port services especially those provided by container terminals. In this integration dry ports have emerged as a vital intermodal platform for the effective and efficient distribution of containerized cargo.
    [Show full text]
  • US Fabrication for Konecranes Rmgs APMT to Monetise Facilities
    FEBRUARY 2018 US fabrication for Konecranes RMGs The steel structures for the and trolley, plus the spreader and The drives and controls for cranes), and multiple US ports eight new Konecranes widespan headblock. The gantry structures the GPA RMGs will be supplied for mobile harbour cranes. Im- RMGs ordered by the Georgia are not, however, included in by TMEIC, which is headquar- portantly, there is no blanket Ports Authority (GPA) for its the waiver, and Konecranes con- tered in Roanoke (VA), and is a waiver for container cranes as a Mason Mega Rail project will be firmed that these will be manu- wholly owned subsidiary of Ja- class, and a separate waiver must fabricated in the USA. factured in the US, but declined pan’s Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric be sought for each purchase that The Mason Mega Rail project to name the fabricator at this stage. Industrial Systems Corporation. uses any federal grant, for the full received a US$44M grant from The RMGs are very large, TMEIC is also supplying drives price or part of it. the US Government’s FAST- with a span of 53.34m, and to the GPA for new and retrofit The question of whether to LANE programme. This funding 16.7m cantilevers. Capacity is STS cranes, and the RMG drives fabricate RMGs in the US will is subject to a ‘Buy America’ re- 40t, and lifting height is 11m. will have many common parts. come up every time. In the cur- quirement that stipulates a “do- WorldCargo News believes that The decision to use a US fab- rent political climate, where the Fully erect delivery of new cranes has become a familiar site in Savannah, but mestic manufacturing process” these will be the biggest contain- ricator sets an important prece- Trump administration is trying structures for the port’s eight new RMGs will be fabricated in the USA for the steel and iron products.
    [Show full text]
  • Economic Importance of the Belgian Ports: Flemish Maritime Ports, Liège Port Complex and the Port of Brussels – Report 2012
    A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Mathys, Claude Working Paper Economic importance of the Belgian ports: Flemish maritime ports, Liège port complex and the port of Brussels – Report 2012 NBB Working Paper, No. 260 Provided in Cooperation with: National Bank of Belgium, Brussels Suggested Citation: Mathys, Claude (2014) : Economic importance of the Belgian ports: Flemish maritime ports, Liège port complex and the port of Brussels – Report 2012, NBB Working Paper, No. 260, National Bank of Belgium, Brussels This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/144472 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die
    [Show full text]
  • 4ALLPORTS News Update March 2020
    4ALLPORTS News Update March 2020 UNCTAD warns of $2 trillion shortfall following COVID-19 News in brief: would mark the end of countries (excluding Gothenburg continues rail investment: Gothenburg has the growth phase of China). The most badly announced plans for continued this cycle cannot be affected economies in expansion of the Gothenburg ruled out. this scenario will be oil Port Line, one of Sweden’s -exporting countries, most important railway links. The almost 10 km line is today a “Back in September we but also other com- single-track line with too low of were anxiously scan- modity exporters, a standard to meet future ning the horizon for which stand to lose traffic needs. An expansion of possible shocks given more than one per- the Port Line to double-track is required to increase both the the financial fragilities centage point of amount of rail traffic and the left unaddressed since growth, as well as total amount of freight traffic. the 2008 crisis and the those with strong Recently, construction of the persistent weakness in trade linkages to the final stage began, which is the The spread of the coro- signs of spreading con- 1.9-kilometer-long stretch demand,” said Richard initially shocked econ- navirus is a significant tagion, the analysis between Eriksberg and Pölsebo. Kozul-Wright, omies. economic threat accord- says. The new section opens for UNCTAD’s director of traffic in 2023. ing to United Nations globalization and de- According to UNCTAD, Conference on Trade However, a combina- Port of Hull deploys electric velopment strate- growth decelerations and Development tion of asset price de- forklifts: A fleet of six, electric gies.
    [Show full text]
  • The Economic Importance of the Belgian Ports: Flemish Maritime Ports, Liège Port Complex and the Port of Brussels – Report 2016
    A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Coppens, François; Mathys, Claude; Merckx, Jean-Pierre; Ringoot, Pascal; Van Kerckhoven, Marc Working Paper The economic importance of the Belgian ports: Flemish maritime ports, Liège port complex and the port of Brussels – Report 2016 NBB Working Paper, No. 342 Provided in Cooperation with: National Bank of Belgium, Brussels Suggested Citation: Coppens, François; Mathys, Claude; Merckx, Jean-Pierre; Ringoot, Pascal; Van Kerckhoven, Marc (2018) : The economic importance of the Belgian ports: Flemish maritime ports, Liège port complex and the port of Brussels – Report 2016, NBB Working Paper, No. 342, National Bank of Belgium, Brussels This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/182219 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence.
    [Show full text]
  • DEDICATED AGRIBULK PORT a GRIBULK & L O G I S T I C
    DEDICATED AGRIBULK PORT A GRIBULK & LOGISTIC Terminals Shipping companies / Brokers Actors in the port ZIP reefer APMT reefer C.RO roro P&O roro Pittmann Seafoods Acutra BIP European Food Zeebrugge Food Center (fi sh) Logsitics Borlix Zeebrugge ECS Breakbulk Terminal Flanders Cold Center II 2XL Zespri Tropicana Belgian New Fruit Wharf Flanders Cold Center Tameco Seabridge Seaport Shipping & Trading* Group Depré* Oil Tank Terminal* *Agrobulk terminals located in the port of Bruges W HY P ort O F Z eebrugge Strategically located at the crossroads of cargo flows between the continent and the U.K., Scandinavia and Southern Europe Intercontinental bulk & container shipping services A port with full nautical accessibility and excellent hinterland connections by road, rail and barge Dedicated infrastructure for dry & liquid agribulk products Strong tradition & unique knowhow in the storage, handling, distribution, freight forwarding and final delivery of agribulk cargo Value added activities e.g. toasting & extruding, de-hulling, bagging, sieving, mixing, etc. Reaching over 60% of E.U. buying power within a 550 km. range Tailor-made distribution & investment options M arket S coV ered / S H ort S ea SHORTSEA RORO LINES Cobelfret / CldN DFDS Seaways EML Finnlines Flota Suardiaz KESS / K-Line P&O Ferries SOL Toyofuji UECC SHORTSEA LOLO LINES CMA CGM Containerships DFDS Container Line SCS Multiport CLDN Portconnect Port Authority Zeebrugge | MBZ Isabellalaan 1 B-8380 Zeebrugge/Belgium T +32 (0)50 54 32 11 F +32 (0)50 54 32 24 www.portofzeebrugge.be [email protected] M ARKETS COVERED / I NTERCONTINENTAL Shipping lines C ONTACT US We are glad to point you towards the best possible transport solutions for your needs or offer professional support in setting up your value-added logistics operations.
    [Show full text]
  • Treasure Committee – Oral Evidence Session – the UK’S Economic Relationship with the European Union
    House of Commons – Treasure Committee – Oral Evidence Session – The UK’s economic relationship with the European Union 5th of June 2018 Joachim Coens, President-CEO The port of Zeebrugge Historic link UK – Bruges Now: intermodal hub and gateway for the EU market Zeebrugge bridgehead for the U.K. distribution P&O PSA Top 5 shipping C.Ro companies Zeebrugge – UK: ICO WWL ICO C.Ro ICO TOYOTA ICO Kemi Oulu UK is our main trade partner. We provide Finland tailormade solutions for all traffic to UK. Rauma Uusikaupunki Kotka St.Petersburg Totaal UK 2017: Helsinki Hanko 17.174.003 ton Sweden Ust Luga Thames area: 8.874.119 ton Bergen Norway Paldiski Humber area: 5.596.801 ton OSLO Tees area: 1.751.647 ton Drammen Moss Scotland: 635.119 ton Larvik Estonia Langesund Halden Russia Others: 316.317 ton Stavanger Kristiansand Wallhalm Göteborg Hirtshals Rosyth Den. Teesport Middlesbrough Esbjerg Malmö Hull Killingholme Immingham Gdynia Dublin Eire Grimbsy 46%Cuxhaven or 17.2 million tonnes in 2017 U.K. Emden Bremerhaven Mostly containers and RoRo Amsterdam Pologne Tilbury traffic Portbury Sheerness Neth. Purfleet Rotterdam Southampton 67% export, 33% import ZEEBRLorUemG ipsumGE EmploymentGermany : 5.000 jobs directly linked to UK traffic Belgium Added value: 500 million Le Havre EUR per year directlyCzech linked Rep. to UK traffic France Italy Vigo Livorno Santander Bilbao Pasajes Sète Leixoes Derince Borusan Barcelona Spain Yenikoy Portugal Tarragona Greece Turkey Sagunto Valencia Gioia Tauro Piraeus Malaga Tenerife Las Palmas Tanger Casablanca Mostaganem Tailormade solutions: 69 services a week Zeebrugge bridgehead for the U.K. distribution Day B : Day A : 24 hours 14.00 hrs: ‘order picking’ Delivery in the U.K.
    [Show full text]
  • Port of Antwerp-Bruges Structure Port of Antwerp-Bruges Is a Limited
    Port of Antwerp-Bruges Structure History Port of Antwerp-Bruges is a limited liability company under public law, in Early 2018 Start of discussions between the which the City of Antwerp and the City of Bruges are the sole shareholders. City of Antwerp and the City of Bruges with a view to closer Ownership of the shares is distributed as follows: collaboration City of Antwerp: 80.2% June 2018 Economic complementarity and robustness study City of Bruges: 19.8% Registered office: Zaha Hadidplein 1, B-2030 Antwerp December 2019 Start of negotiations Organisation 12 February Signature of the two-city 2021 agreement between the Board of directors municipal executives of Antwerp and Bruges . Chair: Annick De Ridder . Vice-chair: Dirk De fauw March 2021 Under approval of the municipal . City of Bruges: 3 representatives, including vice-chair Dirk De fauw councils of Antwerp and Bruges, . City of Antwerp: 6 representatives, including chair Annick De Ridder after which the proposal will be . Independent members: 4 representatives referred to the competition authorities Executive Committee Launch of integration process . Nominated CEO: Jacques Vandermeiren The transaction is subject to a number of customary suspensory conditions, including the need to obtain approval from the Belgian competition authorities. Both parties will endeavour to complete the transaction during the course of 2021. A world port ... By joining forces, the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge will strengthen their position within the global logistical chain. Port of Antwerp Port
    [Show full text]
  • GOVERNMENT of FLANDERS 2014-2019 COALITION AGREEMENT All the Pictures in This Publication Were Taken by Tom D’Haenens
    PROGRESS CONNECT TRUST GOVERNMENT OF FLANDERS 2014-2019 COALITION AGREEMENT ALL THE PIctuRES IN THIS puBLIcatION WERE taKEN BY TOM D’HAENENS. VISION STATEMENT GOVERNMENT OF FLANDERS 2014-2019 COALITION AGREEMENT Flanders is facing a difficult and challenging period. We are still struggling with the impact of the economic crisis. Furthermore, the sixth state reform has allocated additional powers to us, but on the other hand there are also major budgetary challenges to be dealt with. At the same time, we are confronted with major social challenges, especially in terms of care and education. Equally important aspects include the need for more jobs; further development of our inclusive community; better quality water, soil and air; critical infrastructure works; and a thriving business climate. Plus, all of this must be achieved on a balanced budget. Our response to these challenges takes the form of a triptych, which embodies familiar historic heritage. We have designed a Flemish triptych for the future: trust, connect, and progress. Trust in our own abilities. Because Flanders possesses all the qualities and talent for achieving our ambition: to be a European leader in terms of welfare and well-being by 2020. But also trust in each other. You do not tackle difficult obstacles alone, but shoulder to shoulder. Therefore trust also means connecting, to each other and to each other’s talent and qualities, so that we can progress side by side. No one will be left behind. Trust begins with transparency, which is why we will tell it like it is. We will all have to make a contribution.
    [Show full text]
  • History of Zeebrugge
    www.portofzeebrugge.be/en/port/history 1st - 11th century The early history of the port began circa 10,000 years before our Christian calendar, when the North Sea came into being as a result of the warming of the poles and a rise of the water level. This resulted in the delta of the large rivers (Rhine, Scheldt and Meuse). Around 500 BC, the new coastal plain was washed over several times by the sea. This resulted in creeks and channels along which ships could reach the hinterland. A settlement where people occupied themselves with salt extraction arose on the edge of this creek area. An archaeological find from the late 19th century also proves the Roman presence. When digging the new sea canal, the remains were found of a Roman vessel that dates from around 200 AD. The name of this settlement also refers to the connection of its inhabitants with the water. Initially, it was called ‘Rogia’ (which is the original name of the navigation channel ’Reie’), but under the influence of Old Norse, the name was later changed to ‘Bryggia’, which means landing stage. In addition to the Reie, there was another creek in the vicinity, the ‘Sincfal’, but it is not clear whether it also connected Bruges to the sea. It was not until the Vikings attacked and plundered the region in the 9th century that the count of Flanders decided to build a fortified castle at this site, around which a residential nucleus developed. Once the invasions and the destructions by the Vikings had stopped, the inhabitants of Bruges started trading with England and Scandinavia, thanks to the excellent connections with the sea.
    [Show full text]