Following the previous investments in the Beverdonk Container Terminal at Grobbendonk, DP World has taken over all the shares Euroports owned in Trilogiport (Liège container terminal).
With this, the international terminal operator takes full responsibility for the development of Trilogiport, the company said in a release.
“DP World thus confirms its confidence in Belgium as a logistics hub and base for the hinterland,” the release read.
Trilogiport is the planned container terminal at Liège Port, which is yet to be developed: a project that is part of the Marshall Plan of the Walloon Government, a key objective of which is the development of Liège as a logistics hub.
Louis Bertrand, Director – General of the Liège Port Authority said: “DP World supports our strategy to connect Antwerp and Rotterdam to Germany, the Netherlands and France via Liège.”
The project, set to be completed in 2015, is expected to create more than 1,000 associated jobs in the long term. Liège Port will itself invest in the construction of the platform and a bridge linking the site directly to the motorway; on the other hand, a logistics park adjacent to the terminal will be developed by WDP and D.L. Trilogiport Deutschland GmbH / Cetim.
The Albert Canal is one of the most important traffic arteries for multimodal transport from and to the Port of Antwerp as well as an alternative to the increasing amount of traffic on the motorways.
DP World has been operating the Beverdonk Container Terminal in Grobbendonk since the end of 2011. With the operation of two terminals, at the beginning and at the end of the Canal, synergies can be achieved in terms of the optimisation of lighter transport and provision of appropriate solutions for customers.
Rob Harrison, CEO DP World Antwerp, said: “In this way we can immediately bridge the gap from the Port of Antwerp to the Walloon region and subsequently, to the rest of Europe. There are also environmental benefits in using the Canal, taking lorries off the road and reducing carbon emissions.”