The new site will be in the Neder-over-Heembeek neighbourhood of northern Brussels, on the waterfront by Meudon Park. The development will make use of two gatehouses that once belonged to the Meudon Castle, built in 1770 and occupied at one time or another by Napoleon, Pope Leo XIII and Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine.

The work will involve the installation of a 240-metre pontoon, renovation of the gatehouses, a new car park and works on the surrounding roads, for a total investment of just over €4.5 million. Most of the cost will be shouldered by the port, with some €987,000 from the Brussels Region and €220,000 from the city of Brussels.

The decision to build a terminal follows a feasibility study that showed passenger traffic from cruise ships visiting Brussels had grown from 1,200 visitors in 2006 to 10,000 in 2010. The terminal will be operational by 2015 and estimates that visitor numbers will reach 35,000 a year by 2035, with an annual increase in income for the city of €5.2 million.

The vessels able to use the terminal will be limited to river-cruise boats with a draft of less than six metres. Those are capable of carrying 500 to 1,000 passengers, port director Fons Moens said. In addition, the terminal will attract pleasure cruises to the canal.

“Passengers can expect to arrive in comfortable, architecturally attractive surroundings,” Grouwels said. “The visitors’ centre will have a reception area, toilets and perhaps a cafeteria. Outside will be a parking place for shuttle buses to bring the passengers to the city centre.”

Brussels parliamentarian Jef Van Damme criticised the choice of Neder-over-Heembeek. “Industry in the middle of the city and a passenger terminal on the edge is like the world has been turned on its head,” he commented. His socialist party (SP.A) had proposed the Vergote dock close to North Station, echoing calls from cruise line operators, who had made requests for a terminal closer to the city centre.