The Blue Gate Blue Gate Antwerp PPP project, a project driven by the city of Antwerp through AG Vespa and the Flemish government through ParticipatieMaatschappij Vlaanderen (PMV) and Waterwegen en Zeekanaal (WZ), has been newly awarded to Blue Open, a consortium of enterprises including Dredging International, Dredging Environmental Contractors and Bopro, as their contracting partner. 

The Blue Gate Antwerps, former Petroleum Zuid (Petroleum South), is a brownfield project of about 60 hectares located south of Antwerpen. It was one of the most important petroleum ports in the world. Now the city and Flanders want to redeveloped it into a high-quality, waterside and eco-efficient business park of renewable sources of energy.

The project partners wish to attract companies with an ambitious sustainability profile to Blue Gate Antwerp, who has three broad target groups:

• Logistics companies that focus on smart logistics and city-regional distribution
• Production companies from the environmental sector
• Research and development institutes connected to environmental issues

The Blue Gate Blue Gate Antwerp PPP project has been awarded by an innovative and creative tender procedure, the competitive dialogue, totaling eighteen months of negotiations.

Blue Gate Antwerp NV, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) stablished by the city of Antwerp and the Flemish government to develop the project, was advised by the Belgian law firm Eubelius.