Brussels gets a new cruise terminal
Brussels is soon to gain a new tourist attraction: a cruise terminal. The building work is almost complete and the capital city hopes to receive its first guests in 2018.
Until now Brussels has received river cruise and event boats at its Heembeek Quay, although it is not equipped for this purpose. For this reason, plans were approved in 2011 to build a passenger terminal on the left bank in the outer harbour, in Neder-Over-Heembeek. Works only began in April 2017 and are still ongoing, however, the 240 metre-long and 12 metre-wide terminal is already expected to receive its first passengers in 2018. The site will offer an open view of the neighbouring districts and should help to rejuvenate this area of the city.
The terminal will help to develop passenger traffic and aims to bring in around 35,000 visitors by the year 2030: that is three times as many as today. The plans also feature a new reception area and catering facility, boasting views over the canal landscape. This addition should generate around 5 million euros for Brussels and create about one hundred jobs. 50% of the funds for the project came from the Brussels Capital Region and 50% from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
For more info about the Brussels port, go to http://www.port.brussels/en/content/brussels-cruise-terminal.