Port Of Limburg

The closure of the former Ford site in Genk was a blow to the Limburg economy. The plan was conceived to revitalize the approximately 134-hectare site and design a logistics HUB consisting of a number of large zones: a logistics warehouse HUB, a central access zone with space for infiltration basins, access roads and general management functions, a logistics zone for Essers, and a zone for multimodal storage and transshipment to the railway and Albert Canal.

Commissioned by Intervest Offices and Warehouses, the winning master plan for the logistics reconversion of the large former Ford site was drawn up. The development concerns 250,000 m² of logistics warehouses. Group Machiels and Group Essers joined forces to develop the multimodal site along the Albert Canal under the name Port of Limburg (POL), aiming to process 350,000 TEU annually, which corresponds to 350,000 fewer trucks driving between the Port of Antwerp and the hinterland each year. In collaboration with these parties, Tractebel, and De Vlaamse Waterweg (The Flemish Waterway), a design was drawn up for a brand-new inland port.

The multimodal hub relies primarily on a new 433 m long quay at the Albert Canal for 3 ships with 3 gantry cranes and a 30,410 m² bulk transshipment zone. The container storage and transshipment consists of a logistics handling zone and a 51,000 m² container terminal for container handling with reach stackers.

The design also includes a 10,500 m² building cluster with the HQ office for Port of Limburg, a workshop for reach stacker maintenance, a number of Value Added Service buildings (POL/ICL/filling hall), and 36,000 m² of cooled compartmented warehouse transshipment (yet to be realized).

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