2013-05-24 – The Port of Brussels today presented the programme of festivities organised to celebrate its 20th anniversary and its master plan to 2030, a document setting out the port’s development over the years ahead.
The new logo of the Port, which has adopted the model common to regional and pararegional bodies in Brussels proposed by the Brussels-Capital Region, was also unveiled by Benoit Hellings, the Port’s president, and by the regional minister responsible for the Port of Brussels.
Activities for the Port’s 20th anniversary
Alighthouse consisting of four containers on top of one another will be constructed at Place des Armateurs, very close to the Port’s head office, to symbolise the Port’s presence in Brussels. It will be illuminated at night and will be visible until the end of the year.
Alight festival organised by Brussels Mobility on the initiative of the Minister responsible for the Port, will be held in the Béco Dock area during November.
An event for the general public will take place on Saturday 1 June, at the Béco Dock (Place Sainctelette), from 2 pm to 6 pm, with a programme of activities completely free of charge.
* The exhibition ‘Brussels: Left Bank, Right Bank’by Jo Struyven will be opened on 1 June. It consists of a giant panorama of the two banks of Brussels’ canal, displayed in containers. It will be open to the public free of charge until 11 August, and will be included in the 2013 programme of Bruxelles-Les-Bains (from 5 July to 11 August).
* The Belgian Pneumaticlub will offer thrill-seekers the chance to discover the Canal aboard inflatable motor dinghies. Departure from the landing stage on the left bank.
* The Port has entered into an agreement with Brussels Circus School for the presentation of a tightrope show and various aerial spectacles above the Canal. For those after a piece of the action, a death ride and a rope bridge will also be set up, enabling those who wish to do so to cross the Canal in an unprecedented, but completely safe, fashion. Introductory workshops in circus skills and street art will be organised on both banks of the Béco Dock.
* The sailing school of the Brussels Royal Yacht Club will also be present, with demonstrations of Laser yachts, which will sail around various ‘canal monsters’, specially created for the occasion by a member of the Port personnel.
Master plan 2030
The Port of Brussels also presented a document on Friday that will serve as a guide for the port’s development between now and 2030. This master plan will set out the port’s future, taking account of the changes that have been observed in the transport and logistics sectors, as well as of the main principles for the development of the Brussels-Capital Region.
The study combines two approaches: a socio-economic aspect contributed by the European Centre for Strategic Analysisand an urban planning aspect contributed by the firm Cooparch-RU.
The publication identifies eight trends that will contribute to the Port’s growth, and uses these as the basis for concrete projects for various parts of its territory which should create numerous new jobs. These include the creation of a new sustainable port zone on the land adjoining the TIR centre; the creation of a roll on-roll off terminal in the port approach; the creation of a passenger terminal in the port approach; a pilot project for an urban distribution centre at the TIR centre; and the creation of transhipment points alongside the waterway for sustainable urban distribution.
The master plan’s conclusions have been taken into account for the definition of the management contract between the Port of Brussels and the Brussels-Capital Region, officially signed on 7 May this year.
The projects identified in this document should ensure that the port develops in a way that reinforces its role as a socially engaged port, a proactive player in a more sustainable regional economy. The Port’s contribution to the provision of supplies to the city and the Region, by means of the innovative urban distribution projects identified in the master plan, is one of the aspects of the role that the Port will play in the future.
Taken together, these projects are likely to be of benefit to the people of Brussels in terms of the environment, jobs and transport, and to help meet the many needs and challenges relating to energy, logistics and the economy that Brussels will have to face in the years to 2030.
