EU levert bijdrage aan modernisatie Albertkanaal in Vlaanderen (en)

The European Union will co-finance a project to raise a series of bridges on the Albert Canal in the Belgian region of Flanders to allow taller barges and ships access to this key waterway. The project, which will also enlarge a section of the Canal, benefits from a TEN-T Programme contribution of over €3 million and is part of a wider series of improvements on the Albert Canal to allow for increased container traffic.

The Albert Canal, the most important waterway in the Belgian region of Flanders, has a transport capacity of ±40 million tonnes (mostly in the form of container traffic), connecting the cities of Antwerp and Liège, and the Scheldt and Meuse rivers.

In order to improve this key infrastructure, and in light of the forecasted increases in container traffic, the European Commission decided to fund this action under the 2011 TEN-T Annual Call.

The raising of these bridges, which will be completed by the end of 2014, is a key step in upgrading the Albert Canal so that it can accommodate more traffic in the years to come and hence contribute towards a modal shift from more polluting means of transportation. Furthermore, widening the Canal between Wijnegem and Antwerp will allow Class VI vessels (ships up to 280 metres long and just under 35 metres wide) to navigate it in its entirety, from Antwerp to Liège.

The project is set to be completed by the end of 2014.

For more information, please consult the projects' page!

Press Release in French - .doc (43 KB)

Press Release in Dutch - .doc (43 KB)