LIEGE PORT WITH ZEEBRUGGE

[LOG: Liège, December 17]
A delegation from the Port of Zeebrugge and the Zeebrugge business community, led by the Chairman and Managing Director of the port Joachim Coens, came to the Port of Liège to develop synergies with the prospect of future cooperation. The rapid growth of the Asian market and the growth of container movements require cooperation between the inland ports and the seaports, if there is not to be a container gridlock. There is already a relationship between the Port of Antwerp and Liège with a multimodal Liège platform at Trilogiport. This exceptional area of 100 hectares is on the Albert Canal at Hermalle-sous-Argenteau.

For a complementary development, the Port of Liège is turning to Zeebrugge, represented not only by their chairman but by Pierre Kerckaert, General Manager of the port, and Vincent de Saedeleer, the Vice President for Shipping and Business Development. These representatives were also accompanied by private business interests, as we have noted, keen to learn about developments at Liège.

The meeting allows all of the advantages of the Port of Liège to be presented and to outline future cooperation which has a focus, of course, on container movement.

As Joachim Coens said, ‘To avoid hold-ups at the seaport, links with the hinterland play a crucial role in the supply chain and it is important to underline the importance of strategic alliances between seaports like Antwerp and Zeebrugge and the Port of Liège - which is particularly well situated in the hinterland behind them.’

Emile-Louis Bertrand, the boss of the Port of Liège, notes that an inland port, such as that of Liège, is extremely well situated in respect of the seaport and will be playing a major role in the strategy.

Liège is planning is to set up major European distribution centers supported by solid local, national and international partnerships and other ports.
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