World’s largest lock officially opens in Antwerp

The massive lock is 500 metres long, 68m wide and 17.8m deep, allowing it to deal with the largest ships. The government, Port of Antwerp and a building consortium made up of Jan De Nul, CEI De Meyer, Betonac, Herbosch-Kiere and Antwerpse Bouwwerken worked for about five years on the project.

Until now, the smaller Kallo lock was the only entrance to the Waasland port, which meant the waiting time for ships could be up to three hours. A problem with the Kallo lock also halted activity at the Waasland port.

The Kieldrecht lock was opened on Friday by King Filip, Flemish mobility minister Ben Weyts and Marc Van Peel, Antwerp’s city councillor in charge of the port. The Flemish government has taken on 75% of the investment cost of building the lock. “We are preserving the international competitive position of the port of Antwerp and are attracting new economic activity to our region,” said Weyts.

Photo: From left to right, Marc Van Peel, King Filip, Ben Weyts and  Werner Hoyer, German politician and the President of the European Investment Bank

Courtesy Port of Antwerp