– Over 80% of consumer goods reach Europe today by container. From Rotterdam, Antwerp, Dunkirk, Zeebrugge, an unloaded container can be delivered within 24 hours at the latest to any destination in Wallonia – whether by river, rail, or road transport – calculates Bernard Piette, representative of the Logistics in Wallonia network. – The growth rate of container traffic has increased significantly over the last 5 years (+7%/year).
While road or rail transport would require major investments to increase efficiency, the great economic importance of the Belgian port network (Antwerp, Ghent, Ostend, Zeebrugge, and Liege) is already a fact: nearly 5% of Belgium’s GDP comes from activities related to these five ports. Antwerp is undoubtedly Belgium’s primary port and the fourth largest in the world in international maritime transport. However, the role of the river network in Wallonia, which consists of four ports (Charleroi, Liege, Namur, and Région du Centre), should not be underestimated.
The inland port complex in Liege is the third largest in Europe. It is in constant expansion and directly employs over 11,000 people (and 15,700 indirectly). Accessible to river-sea cabotage vessels with a capacity of up to 2,500 tons and convoys pushed by 2 barges (4,500 tons), it constitutes an important hinterland for the port of Antwerp. Thanks to a network of navigable waterways, Wallonia has excellent connections to major seaports: Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Dunkirk.
To support the development of logistics, the Walloon authorities established the “competitiveness pole” Logistics in Wallonia in July 2006. This name covers three types of activities that complement each other to make Wallonia a logistics hub:
– cluster activity: Logistics in Wallonia is a meeting place for all entities related to the sector: transport companies, logistics companies, infrastructure managers, training institutions,
– stimulating cluster activity and encouraging industry companies to implement innovative projects,
– in cooperation with the Walloon Export and Foreign Investment Agency (AWEX), Logistics in Wallonia carries out the mission of supporting potential foreign investors in Wallonia in their efforts to develop logistics networks in Western Europe.
More about the Logistics in Wallonia network in the latest issue of Logistyka magazine.