The Flemish Ghent Port and the Dutch Zeela[ds_preview]nd Seaports are investigating further steps to a closer cooperation, with a merger as »a remote prospect«. McKinsey was assigned to examine the opportunities.
By the end of April 2017, both port authorities want to know if a merger is the best option, they said. The investigation is said to be a logical consequence of the already existing intense cooperation with regard to the comparable size of the port areas and the strategic overlap. In the coming six months, Ghent Port Company and Zeeland Seaports (with the port areas of Flushing, Terneuzen and Borsele) will be investigating the possibilities in the fields of tax law, administrative and legal structures, relationships with national and regional authorities, port dues and fees for concessions and service rendering.
»In our firm belief, an intensive cooperation yields nothing but advantages«
Jan Lagasse, CEO of Zeeland Seaports
The port areas from Flushing to Ghent are centrally located in Western Europe and can serve no less than 500 mill. consumers within a radius of 500 km. The area counts 80,000 inhabitants, 110,000 workers and over 500 companies. This area is good for 13.6 bill. € of added value. It is 9,300 ha wide and receives 8,700 seagoing vessels a year.
Combinded more than 110 mill. t cargo traffic
Zeeland Seaports – comprising the ports of Flushing/Borsele and Terneuzen – is located at the beginning of the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal Zone. The port of Ghent is located 32 km farther inland. The ports of Ghent and Terneuzen can accommodate vessels having a maximum draught of 12.5 m. The port of Flushing/Borsele is accessible to vessels up to a draught of 16.5 m.
Ghent Port Company, limited liability company under public law, registered a turnover in 2015 of 33 mill. € and 10.2 mill, € of profit. The port registers 26.4 mill. t of seaborne cargo traffic and 20.1 mill. t of cargo traffic via inland navigation.
Zeeland Seaports plc (comprising the ports of Flushing, Terneuzen and Borsele) registered a turnover of 53 mill. € and a profit of 8 mill. € in 2015. The company recorded 33 mill. t of seaborne cargo traffic and 32 mill. t of cargo traffic via inland navigation.
