Ports of Antwerp, Zeebrugge to merge into larger facility

The city governments of Antwerp and Bruges have entered into an agreement to merge their respective ports.

Once completed, the ports will operate under the name Port of Antwerp-Bruges. The merged port will have an annual capacity of 157 million tonnes of containers and will also be one of the largest breakbulk ports and the largest port for the throughput of vehicles in Europe.

The port is expected to account for more than 15 per cent of Europe’s LNG transited and will also be the largest port for cruise ships in the Benelux region.

The transaction is subject to a number of customary suspensive conditions, including approval from the Belgian Competition Authorities. Both parties aim to finalise the transaction in the course of 2021.