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During the next few months preparations in the Port of Antwerp will be finalised for transfering the activities of the[ds_preview] MSC shipping company – currently operating in the Delwaide dock on the right bank area of the port – to the Deurganck dock on the left bank of the Scheldt. This dock with its annual capacity of 11mill. TEU will enable MSC to further develop its activities. However, according to the latest forecasts Antwerp will need to have new container handling capacity as of 2020 to 2021. The Port Authority is therefore already making preparations for a new, large tidal dock with matching terminal capacity on the left bank. The port of Antwerp has a development area of more than 1,000 hectares available on the left bank which is expected to enter operation in phases. The Port Authority plans for the first phase of the Saeftinghe dock to be operational as of 2021, with 1,400m of quay and a minimum capacity of 5.1mill. TEU. The costs for this first phase of the dock are estimated at 660mill. €. In addition to construction of the first phase of the Saeftinghe dock the project also includes the development of non-maritime zones and backquay terminal areas.

The MSC shipping company is due to shift its operations in Antwerp from one bank of the Scheldt to the other at the beginning of 2016. In the meantime the Port Authority issued a Call for Proposals at the end of last year to discover what interest there might be in taking over the concession in the Delwaide dock that will be freed up by the move.

The Port Authority board of directors announced on 4 May that it would open exclusive negotiations with the Saudi Arabian company Energy Recovery Systems (ERS) for the southern and northern sides of the concession, representing an area of 150 hectares. ERS proposes to use the site to set up a new production unit for »green« ammonia and urea, representing an investment of 3.7 bill. €. The plant will provide employment for 900 people.

Furthermore the port has decided to extend the search for an investor for an area in the Churchill dock by a further two years. The Churchill Industrial Zone is situated next to the Delwaide dock. Until a few years ago the 88 hectare site accommodated a General Motors car assembly plant.