The port authority and PSA Antwerp, Europa's operator, will overhaul the 1990-commissioned facility, so that container ships with a max draught of 16 m (at inlet) can call to it versus the current 13.5 m.

Europa Terminal's 1,200 m-long quay wall will be demolished and replaced with a new one. This will be done in three steps to keep operations running (with some of the traffic diverted to PSA's Noordzee Terminal).

PSA Antwerp is responsible for the renovation of the layout of the adjacent front quay, including new flooring and the installation of large container cranes.

The modernised quay will also be built in a way making it easy to add onshore power supply installations.

An underwater dam will protect the nearby Galgenschoor nature reserve.

The works are expected to start at the end of 2021.

"Containers are the most important segment at our port and a growth segment in the world, our yearly figures in 2020 prove this once again. And the trend towards more containers for transporting goods will only continue. This deepening is in line with our ambition to continue to grow as a port in a sustainable way and will contribute towards maintaining our position as a world port," Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO, the Port of Antwerp, underlined.

Jan Van Mossevelde, MD, PSA Antwerp, added, "Thanks to this deepening, the Europa Terminal will join the league of mega-vessel ready container terminals. This major investment meets the needs of the major shipping alliances. When the works are completed, we'll be able to handle two megamax ships simultaneously at a brand new and innovative terminal."

"For our worldwide economic position and the prosperity of current and future generations, it's essential that we can continue to receive the largest container ships. With this investment, we are building the port of the future. Only in this way world players will continue to choose our port as the gateway to Europe and can we continue to position ourselves as a container port," Annick De Ridder, Antwerp's Port Alderman, summed up.

Photo: Port of Antwerp