Blue Gate Antwerp - sustainable business park

Industrial Heritage

During the interbellum, Petroleum South was at the very heart of the Antwerp petroleum industry. Ships deliverd crude oil to the local quay and pipelines transported it to refineries. Second World War bombings destroyed most of the infrastructure, causing the petroleum industry to move, leaving an abandoned, heavily contaminated site.

Public Private Partnership

The site is located directly next to the city of Antwerp, right in the economic heart of Europe. It holds unique opportunities in terms of logistics and accessibility, as it can be reached by water, as well as the road network. Furthermore, it offers opportunities for industrial symbioses. This made the site a good candidate for redevelopment. Blue Gate Antwerp was (re)developped by a public-private partnership, Combining these actors, made it possible to make the enormous investments required to decontaminate the 63 hectare site. Public partners AG Vespa and PMV joined forces with private partners DEME and Bopro. They are supported by the City of Antwerp, Agentschap Innoveren & ondernemen, EFRO and Vlaamse Waterweg.

Sustainable Business Park

Today, the site has been decontaminaed and it is ready for a new chapter. Blue Gate Antwerp, is an innovative, climate neutral business park. The focus will be on chaemistry and logistics. Businesses locating here, are committed to the eco-effective principle of reducing the use of raw materials. Blue Gate Antwerp’s ambiton is well-defined: linear growth through circular operations.

Amazon and DHL occupied climate neutral, BREAAM Excellente distribution centres on the site. Furthermore a new detention centre is being build and a technical campus has opened its doors on site. BlueApp and BlueChem are present as incubators to facilitate innovation in the chemical sector. A building materials business makes use of the nearby quay and road network for easy tansportation of their goods.

A number of collective needs such as renewable energy, heat and water buffering are offered by the business park.

Room for Nature and Leisure

The Blue Gate site is an important nature corridor, connecting the nature reserve Hobokense Polder and the green belt around the city of Antwerp. Local residents enjoy an upgrade of the public space, with healthy green zones and respectful restauration of industrial heritage of the area.