Antwerp Gateway

In 2015 Witteveen+Bos Belgium was appointed by N.V. Antwerp Gateway to study and supervise the implementation of the expansion of the Antwerp Gateway. The Antwerp Gateway is the container terminal of DP World, located at the Deurganckdok in the port of Antwerp.

The extension concerned the construction of civil and electrical infrastructure for three new stacking lanes for ASC (Automated Stacking Cranes) and an extension of the zone for CFS (Container-Freight Station). The disciplines ground, road and sewerage works, rail, steel structures, low and high voltage were discussed. 

The study started in mid-April 2015. It started off with the inventory of the existing infrastructure and the optimisation of the track and pavement design. For the track design, a financial trade-off was made between a track on sleepers and a track on piles. Both investment and operating costs were taken into account. For the pavements, stability calculations were carried out on the basis of the expected traffic loads and intensities at the terminal.

After the design principles had been established, the drawings were made for the urban development permit application. The permits were applied for at the end of June 2015. Then, in a short period of time, a set of specifications for each discipline was put on the market and a contractor was appointed. 

In the autumn of 2015, the first spade was put into the ground. The biggest challenge was to control the interfaces between the various contractors and to execute the project within schedule and budget. Witteveen+Bos played an important role, being responsible for the technical and administrative follow-up of the performance, the approval of detailed and working drawings and calculation notes, the inspection of the products and/or performances, the inspection of the progress reports, the interface control between the various contractors and the supervision of the site. 

The project has now been completed. With this project Witteveen+Bos is highlighting its expertise in container terminals and port-related infrastructure.