Location and description
Activities
Free enterprise and sustainability
Multimodal transport
Concessions

Scheldt Left Bank Corporation (Corporation for the port policy and the industrial estate policy for the Left Bank of the Scheldt)

Among other things The Scheldt Left Bank Corporation is charged with the acquisition of a number of company grounds in the Waasland port, and making them ready for building. The Waasland port is that part of the seaport of Antwerp situated on the Left Bank of the Scheldt.

With this website the Scheldt Left Bank Corporation formally launches a market consultation about the first phase of the Waasland Logistics Park. On the basis of the incoming applications company grounds will be made available and concessions granted.

Considering the Scheldt Left Bank Corporation is a public institution and committed to the principles of good governance, grounds in the Waasland Logistics Park will be made available and granted to interested parties by launching a market consultation.The Scheldt Left Bank Corporation management will fully observe the general legal rules governing public contracts, i.e. the imperatives of equal treatment, accountability, meticulousness and transparency, in selecting and assessing potential concessionaires. The Scheldt Left Bank Corporation has a free hand in granting or not granting concessions. For any loss or damage suffered as a result of not granting a concession or postponing the decision to grant a concession, the Corporation shall have no liability.

Location and description

The Waasland Logistics Park is part of the Waasland port (for a schematic representation of the location, see the map below).
The total area is approximately 170 ha. The present consultation is conducted as a result of the opening up of part of the eastern zone, Phase 1, an area of approximately 49 ha; other parts of the eastern zone will be opened up later, in phases, spread out over time. The aim is to make additional grounds availabable every year, starting with the eastern part and Phase 1. Grounds in the western zone will be made available in phases from 2013 onwards.

Activities

The Waasland Logistics Park consists of two different zones:

An eastern zone reserved for typical logistics industrial activities, and activities which are very closely linked to these. Maximal use can be made of the existing multimodal transport infrastructure in this area(sea, inland navigation, railway, road). The Waasland Logistics Park will not provide for a pipeline in the future. Harbour vehicles can make use of public roads. Lots can be differing a lot in size according to types of activities. The present consultation concerns Phase 1, in the eastern zone(approximately 49 ha). Grounds will be available shortly.

A western zone also reserved for logistics activities, but paying a lot more attention to the greening of industrial premises and surroundings, involving additional requirements as to sustainable equipment and limiting ecological inconveniences. Moreover, lots will not differ a lot in size. Presumably, the western zone will be made available in phases from 2013 onwards

Free enterprise and sustainability

We seek to fully implement Europe?s sustainability policy in the Waasland Logistics Park. It means that space must be used sparingly. Moreover, potential concessionaires must give ample evidence of the optimal operational use of the area. Concessions will include provisions concerning ?spatial performance?( i.e. good use of the available space). Furthering and evaluating the company's performance with respect to space is definitely our aim. Other aspects of the sustainability policy are, among others, responsible energy consumption, maximal recycling, protection of the natural environment, and the means of transport used.

The Waasland Logistics Park borders an area of natural beauty, ?de Haasop?, and is part of the Natura 2000 network, a vast array of protected sites in Europe. In order to be able to realize the Waasland Logistics Park the Scheldt Left Bank Corporation took a number of measures aimed at the conservation of specific species of the local fauna and flora, and made extensive compensation payments. Moreover, together with Natuurpunt and the Antwerp Port Authority, the Corporation committed itself to the project ?de Antwerpse Haven natuurlijker?(a more natural Antwerp Port) by incorporating ecological infrastructure into the policy planning for the development of the Waasland port.

Measures have been taken and future concessionaires will be asked to take them into account when organizing their premises. We are trying to make this port more attractive and lively by taking also into account the visual aspects of the infrastructural development. Architecture is important, and so is a strategy for greenery and outdoor space.

Ambitions with regard to the above-mentioned principles will have to be made clear.

Multimodal transport

The opening up of the Waasland Logistics Park to cars is at the roundabout at the Hazopweg. From there the port and the main motorways can be reached(E34–R2-the opening up of the western area). Plans have been made for an second opening up to cars, in one of the next phases.
Arrangements have been made for the opening up of the area to the railway. Companies can connect to it(taking care of the costs themselves).

As to inland navigation, we are currently exploring the possibilities the far end of the Verrebroek dock offers. We are also examining in what way the dock can strenghten the multimodal character of the nearby logistics park. (Strips of land for) pipelines are not part of the equipment infrastructure of the logistics park, but there are plenty of them in the rest of the Waasland port.

Concessions

Grounds are made available by granting concession agreements. A concession agreement is an administrative contract by which an area manager allows either a private person or a company to make exclusive but temporary use of part of the public property for private purposes. By its nature this permission is temporary and involves the payment of a fee.

The duration of a concession shall be calculated on the basis of article 4 of the ?Terms and Conditions for concessions in the Antwerp port area?. The investments and the return on investment upon completion of these investments will be of overriding importance in determining the duration of the concession.

The sum to be paid for a concession will be fixed on the basis of the project proposals. For your information we let you know that the price for logistics activities within the port area is currently fixed at 3.17 euro/m2 /per year. Service activities are charged at 4.60 euro/m2/per year.