Port of Antwerp-Bruges began works in mid-September 2026 on the renewal of quays 231 and 239 and the reconfiguration of the intermediate inlet dock in the Hansa Dock area, with construction scheduled to run until the end of January 2028.

The scheme does more than patch aging infrastructure. By sealing the inlet dock between quays 231 and 239 with a new quay wall and backfilling it, the port will unlock additional concession land within the Hansa Dock. For terminal operators, logistics providers and industrial tenants in the area, that translates into new capacity for future port activities in a European gateway that has been managing chronic acreage constraints.

Alongside the infill, the existing quay walls at quays 231 and 239 are being rehabilitated and fitted with new facing walls. The works will deliver fully rehabilitated quay infrastructure designed to support future port operations once the site becomes available for concessioning.

The project also marks a procurement milestone: it is the first application of the Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) approach by Port of Antwerp-Bruges. Under ECI, the contractor joins the design and preparation process before execution begins, rather than receiving a finished specification to build. The port has now completed the joint design and preparatory phase, and the transition to on-site works signals that the method has moved from drafting table to dockside. If the model delivers on schedule and budget here, shippers and concessionaires can expect the port authority to apply it more broadly across its future civil works programme.

Port operations will continue throughout the 16-month construction window. Works are being carried out in phases specifically to minimise disruption to surrounding port activities and to maintain accessibility to adjacent concession areas, the port said. Vessel calls and landside traffic linked to neighbouring operators should therefore proceed without full closures, though phased construction inevitably means periodic adjustments for trucks and inland barges serving the immediate area.

For carriers and forwarders routing cargo through Antwerp, the practical near-term impact is limited: this is a brownfield redevelopment of an existing dock rather than a capacity withdrawal on the deepsea terminals. The commercial significance lies in the medium term. Once the inlet dock is backfilled and the quays are rebuilt, Port of Antwerp-Bruges will hold extra concession-ready land and renewed quay walls at Hansa Dock — assets it can market to terminal, warehouse or industrial players competing for space in Northwest Europe's busiest box port complex.

The phasing through to end-January 2028 also sets a clear timeline for anyone watching the port's land bank. Interest in the newly created concession land will likely begin well before the final facing wall is installed, as operators position for capacity that becomes available as Europe's port capacity tightens toward the end of the decade.