Euroports and North Sea Port are collaborating to construct the very first covered loading dock in Ghent in North Sea Port: the ‘All Weather Terminal’ (AWT). This project will cost more than 50 million euros.
The new terminal will be built next to the existing cargo quay of ArcelorMittal Gent on the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal. At first, the terminal will be mainly used to store and ship finished steel rolls from ArcelorMittal Gent.
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The warehouse of the ‘AWT’ will have a storage capacity of 60,000 tons and will be 240 meters long and 60 meters wide, while it will have 2 tracks connected to the quay bundle. The warehouse will be equipped with 3 fully automated gantry cranes for unloading, sorting and loading of material.
The terminal will rise about 30 meters above the water level and ships with a payload of up to 10,000 tons will be able to moor at the new quay. The pre-sorting zone is equipped with 2 automated gantry cranes. Euroports 2 telescopic cranes are provided for loading and unloading ships. F
Manfred Van Vlierberghe, CEO of ArcelorMittal Belgium,said:
The charging of high-grade steel could only be done in dry weather, whereas this can now be done 24/7, regardless of the weather conditions. The ‘AWT’ makes it possible to better spread the supply of rollers from the dispatch halls of ArcelorMittal Gent to the quay and thus optimize the internal logistic operation.
The environmental permit is now being prepared and requested with the intention to start construction at the end of 2018. It is expected that the ‘All Weather Terminal’ will be operational by mid-2020.