2014-02-18 - The Port of Brussels has issued a call for projects relating to mooring spaces available at the Béco Dock for boats used for leisure, cultural or hospitality/catering activities.
This call relates to all 240 metres of waterfront on the Béco Dock. Certain positions are already occupied by boats, which will obviously also be able to submit proposals. The projects selected will need to combine aesthetic quality, integration in the urban environment and financial feasibility in the short term. Candidates have until the end of April 2014 to submit proposals, and the new mooring positions could be awarded by the end of the summer.
The shortlisted projects will be classified into one of two categories: cultural (in the broad sense, including sport) and commercial activities/events for the general public. However, projects may also be mixed: for example, a boat could be used for a cultural/catering activity with a commercial dimension, or for public events with a cultural dimension. A panel of judges will then be responsible for proposing a selection of projects to the Board of Directors of the Port, taking care to ensure a balance between the cultural and commercial categories.
The Béco Dock is the closest dock to the city centre, and has been undergoing redevelopment for several years, as port activities are gradually relocated to other parts of the port. This process has enabled local residents to reappropriate the banks of this dock. For example, it is the site used for Bruxelles-Les-Bains every year. A park will also soon be created by Beliris on part of the dock’s left bank, and several housing projects are being developed nearby.
The President of the Port of Brussels sees the launch of the call for projects as a positive step: ‘In this way we are continuing our urban integration work, with the clear objective that the Béco Dock should establish a role as the point of contact between the people of Brussels and their waterway. This call for projects thus confirms our desire to restore local people’s contact with the waterway, while preserving the port activity with its positive impacts in terms of employment, the environment and mobility. Such a call for projects will have the effect of combining and reconciling the leisure and port activities which are together helping to revitalise the Canal Area and, our Region as a whole.’
More information: www.portdebruxelles.be
