Antwerp Maritime Campus receives building permit
The Antwerp Maritime Campus receives a building permit. “The campus will be a unique hub without equal on an international level. Proceeds of research will be provided”, says Luk Lemmens (N-VA). But not everyone is happy with the permit. Natuurpunt may go to the Council for Permit Disputes.
EmKeSource† BELGA
The Antwerp Maritime Campus, not to be confused with the Maritime Academy, will receive a building permit. That said Luk Lemmens (N-VA) on Thursday. “We have made social and economics. The Maritime Campus will be a unique hub without equal on an international level. Research will be provided.”
The Antwerp Maritime Campus is a project of the Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB), one of the oldest and largest shipping companies in Antwerp with headquarters on the Scheldt quays. The purpose of the campus, a building of 40,000 square meters, is to allow Belgian and foreign companies to develop innovations in the shipping industry.
The site where the Campus is to be located is on the far corner of Blue Gate, an industrial area at the end of the Scheldt quays, also known as the old Petroleum South. The site where CMB wants to build is not a nature reserve, but it is largely surrounded by it. Natuurpunt fears not only mobility problems, but also light pollution, the draining of wetlands and problems for migratory birds.
In recent months, Natuurpunt has taken action against the high-rise plans on the Hobokense Polder and may go to the Council for Permit Disputes. “The new campus will employ thousands of people. That will cause more pollution than in the past,” says Luk Smets of Natuurpunt.
Smets for a new Isvag scenario, credible through lawsuits, courts, neighborhood protests and political wrangling that had been going on for a quarter of a century. That process ensured that the waste disposal company was kept the permit for the planned waste incinerator.
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But according to Lemmens, Natuurpunt should not worry. “Of course, special (environmental) conditions are anchored for the construction,” says Lemmens. “There used to be a polluting factory on the site, the application of the Campus is a more favorable package. Moreover, not every company is allowed to just settle on the campus, there must be a clear maritime link.”