LOCATION 1: BELGIUM - PORT OF ANTWERP
History:
The harbor of Antwerp found its origin close to the city center of Antwerp, on the right bank of the river Scheldt in the 12th century. Initially the industry concentrated on trade between Zealand, Germany and England. The 16th century was the golden century for the Port of Antwerp. Trade was expanded to other parts of Europe as the city and the port grew larger.
Under the control of Napoleon the Port industries cranked up, and new docks like the ‘Bonaparte dock’ and the ‘Willem dock’ were excavated. The ‘Red Star Line’ shipping company was founded and brought about 2 million people to America.
In the 20th century the Port of Antwerp grew up as a distribution centre with worldwide fame. After World War 2 the harbor became the major chemistry cluster of Europe thanks to the Marshall-plan. The harbor extended northward and in the seventies also on the leftbank docks were excavated.
Nowadays:
The Port of Antwerp is a prime example of how the conflicting interests of harbor -and nature development can be consiliated. The Scheldt-agreements between the Belgian and the Dutch governments set the values ‘safety, accesability and the recovery of nature’s first. According to this agreement the broadening ofthe navigation channel in 2010 took place.
The biggest container vessels in the world can reach the the Antwerp harbor. The Port of Antwerp stays a major player in the global market.
