Circular City Ports - Workbook
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<strong>City</strong>-port context of Brussels<br />
Inland ‘metropolitan’ port - the region as the<br />
framework for transition?<br />
29<br />
1 Description of location in relation to other<br />
(sea/) ports<br />
Thanks to its exceptional accessibility for an inland<br />
port, the Port of Brussels, located on the Antwerp-<br />
Brussels-Charleroi canal, enjoys the status of a seaport.<br />
It is very well located in the heart of European<br />
rail, airport and motorway networks. It is an efficient<br />
multimodal platform that plays an essential role as<br />
a supply and redistribution centre; first for the city/<br />
region of Brussels itself, and for its hinterland and<br />
economic network along the canal.<br />
2 Description of current activities<br />
In the port of Brussels, we see as main functioning,<br />
activity around logistics that work on the scale of<br />
the city, region, hinterland and in relation with the<br />
port of Antwerp. In the port we see the management<br />
of waste coming from the city and the region<br />
(demolition waste, metal scrap) to be shipped to recycling<br />
sites inside the port, along the canal and to<br />
Antwerp, and in the same time, the port is providing<br />
the city with goods, building material (concrete,...).<br />
The port of Brussels also manages the TIR Logistics<br />
Centre, a vast warehousing complex located in the<br />
immediate vicinity of the city centre, demonstrating<br />
its strategic involvement in the field of logistics.<br />
3 Description demographic/socio-economic<br />
dynamics.<br />
The Port is home to more or less 360 differentiated<br />
companies that generate 12,000 jobs, including<br />
5,645 direct jobs on the port site. The economic activity<br />
linked to the Port represents more than 4 billion<br />
€ in turnover.<br />
Brussels as a city is growing rapidly with a high demand<br />
for new housing. With the deployment of the<br />
Plan Canal a position has been taken to develop this<br />
zone with respect to the existing economic activities.<br />
The Port of Brussels, through its jobs, its added<br />
value and its involvement in supplying the region,<br />
remains a leading regional economic hub and a sector<br />
that promotes growth and employment for the<br />
Brussels-Capital Region. Although the Plan Canal<br />
provides a workable and welcome framework for<br />
development, a clear vision how the different scales<br />
and economic networks relate to each other is absent<br />
in the vision.<br />
4 Why, and in what way is circularity looked at?<br />
The Port of Brussels aims to promote waterborne<br />
transport (the most environmentally friendly mode<br />
of transport), develop employment, combat global<br />
warming and improve urban distribution.<br />
In this sense, innovative and sustainable logistics<br />
projects are widely promoted. Indeed, for the land<br />
located along the canal, the Port imposes on its<br />
customers the use of the waterway for their activity.<br />
Preferential rates are thus granted to customers according<br />
to the tonnages transported by waterway.<br />
Conversely, penalties may also be imposed on customers<br />
who do not respect their inland waterway<br />
transport commitments<br />
5 Who gives substance to this, which partnerships/programmes/initiatives<br />
are made?<br />
Programmes such as the PREC (Regional Programme<br />
in <strong>Circular</strong> Economy) or the be.circular calls for projects<br />
which encourage the transformation of a linear<br />
economy into a circular economy within the Brussels-<br />
Capital Region as well as the financial resources<br />
made available, show a real interest on the part of<br />
urban actors in these issues. The main canvassers<br />
have developed around logistics (<strong>City</strong>depot, construction<br />
village, setting up logistics platforms along<br />
the canal...), the creation of industrial synergies (free<br />
Irisphere service...) or innovation and research platforms<br />
(the Recy-K sorting and reuse platform, the<br />
Greenbizz incubator platform...)<br />
6 Is there already a discourse around cityports?<br />
(Yes/no) Who is behind it and what are the ambitions/motives?<br />
In the zone of the Plan Canal we can distinguish 3<br />
zones; an inner-city urban fabric with no relation to<br />
the water, the city ports around Biestebroeck and<br />
Vergotedock and the more industrial/logistical port<br />
to the north.<br />
For the city port of Vergotedock, the ambition has<br />
been made clear to develop this zone in function of<br />
a more urban circular economy. For example the site<br />
of A.Stevens, a metal recycling company, is looked<br />
at to develop towards a more mixed program with<br />
ateliers and preservation of the logistical function it<br />
has now.
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