GROWTH OF WATER TRAFFIC
[LOG: Liège, August 25] H1 was marked by the growth in imports of minerals and coal (+400,000 tons) necessary for the blast furnace at Ougrée, which started up again at the beginning of 2010, and also because of the increase in steel exports (+150,000 tons). The Port of Liège has also registered good development in its carriers (+350,000 tons) to the ports of Engis and Hermalle-sous-Huy, and also an increase in agricultural products and exports of biofuels produced at Statte (+140,000 tons) by Biowanze. It’s also worth noting that the Port of Lixhe, one of the 31 zones managed by the Port of Liège, has created new traffic for the first semester of 50,000 tons to its cement works. At the level of containerized cargo, there was also an increase of 8,887 EVPs and 1,082 units (+14%). The H1 result is another seven million tons by water. According to Emile-Louis Bertrand, the director general, the first investor of this year has been marked by a strong growth in traffic and they are extremely pleased. During the crises, the Port of Liège, the first Belgian inland port, has continued to invest and has thus anticipated the growth and demand which has manifested itself today. These public investments are important and have revealed their success. On another front, according to a recent study by the National Bank of Belgium relative to the importance of a port complex, development has also made a major contribution to employment and the value added when compared with 2007 has exceeded the EUR 2,626m in 2007 and the EUR 2,888.7m in 2008. The Port of Liège is doing very well.
Water traffic in H1 in Liège has risen to 7,362,002 tons, a rise of 19% or 1,188,324 tons in comparison with the corresponding period of 2009. This growth is not just due to the dynamism of the private businesses at the port. The promotion, with new traffic and the political investment in the development of the Port of Liège, is all beginning to bear fruit.
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