SUCCESS STORIES IN BELGIUM
INTERVIEW WITH
Valérie Tanghe, Port Cluster Manager
COMPANY
The Port of Brussels REGION
Brussels Founded: 1993 Location: Brussels Number of employees: 130 Turnover (2019): EUR 10.7 million Growth (2019): +5.6% Investments (2019): EUR 1,7 million Prizes, awards: First CO2-Free Belgian Port (2019); 3-stars level Brussels Ecodynamic Company Website: www.port.brussels
As a major economic player located in the Brussels-Capital region, the Port of Brussels is responsible for the management of a 14-kilometer-long waterway crossing Brussels from north to south and the marketing of a port estate covering 107 hectares. As the second-largest Belgian inland port situated along the Antwerp-Brussels-Charleroi waterway axis, the Port of Brussels enjoys an ideal location in the center of Europe allowing inland waterway and maritime shipping. “By choosing Brussels as their European logistics and distribution center, companies not only benefit from the city’s central geographical position but also from its proximity to the decision-making bodies of the European Union as well as its direct multimodal connections serving major European markets such as France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands,” explains Valérie Tanghe, Port Cluster Manager at the Port of Brussels. In this way, by playing a key role within the European transport networks and promoting water transport as the most environment-friendly means of transport, “the Port of Brussels has set its sights on contributing to the development of combined transport in Europe and encouraging companies to opti-
54
“The Port of Brussels has set its sights on contributing to the development of combined transport in Europe.”
mize their goods flows by undertaking a modal shift in their transportation process, from road to waterway or rail,” emphasizes Tanghe.
A LANDLORD PORT ON A TRIPLE MISSION The Port of Brussels develops its activities around three main missions: operating the port estate, managing the port waterway network and facilitating the provision of logistics services while enhancing urban distribution. “The Port of Brussels is the exclusive operator of the Brussels port estate. It is what is called a landlord port,” explains Tanghe. In other words, the Port remains the owner of its land and, based on concession agreements, grants plots of land to its customers, who develop an economic activity in the port estate. “Today, the Port of Brussels approximately hosts 200 companies on its estate operating in
