Why is the New Lock in Terneuzen needed?

The port areas of Ghent and Terneuzen are of great economic importance. The Terneuzen lock complex forms the access to these ports located on the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal. It is a crucial link in the Seine-Scheldt connection. Research into maritime access to the Canal Zone has shown that there is a capacity problem for inland navigation and that there are problems of size, availability and reliability of passage for sea-going vessels.

The Seine-Scheldt connection is part of a major European TEN-T project in progress. The project aims to connect seven European ports via existing waterways to be improved and a canal yet to be dug between Rotterdam (NL) - Antwerp - Ghent - Zeebrugge (B) and Le Havre - Rouen - Dunkirk (F). This should also make it possible to make the industrial regions of the Seine with those of the Scheldt accessible to inland vessels of up to 4400 tonnes.

By way of comparison, currently only inland vessels (rush hour) of 400 to 600 tonnes can reach Paris via small outdated waterways with numerous locks.

By 2030, the stretch between North Sea Port (Ghent) and Deulemont on the French border will be navigable for vessels of up to 4500 tonnes. France, in turn, will further develop inland waterways from the French border towards Paris via Lille, Cambrai and Compiègne.

The Seine-Scheldt project will turn North Sea Port into a fully-fledged Seine Port, as it were, an outport of the Paris region and its 10 million inhabitants.

Eric Marteijn (RWS) is project director Nieuwe Sluis Terneuzen. Contractor combination "Sassevaart", a consortium including the Dutch BAM Group, Belgian dredgers DEME and VAN LAERE , led by project director Gerben Turkstra, is carrying out the contract.

Cost New Lock Terneuzen
The construction of the lock including preparation costs and supervision as well as the infrastructural management and maintenance for the first two years is expected to cost €934 million (including VAT). In accordance with the treaty between the Netherlands and Flanders for the construction of the New Terneuzen Lock, the Netherlands will pay over EUR 190 million, including a regional contribution. Flanders will bear the remaining costs. North Sea Port will contribute to the Flemish share of the costs. Over 48 million euros will be contributed from European CEF funds.

The planned completion in March 2023 will not be achieved due to, among other things, delays caused by corona, the presence of PFAS in the soil and the discovery of objects in the subsoil that need to be removed.

We would like to be updated on the state of affairs and the (un)expected developments that are encountered during these works. And also take a look over the site from the observation tower.

Parking: on the parking deck above the shops of the Kennedy Retail Park, Kennedylaan 9. Take the stairs or lift down and walk left around the shopping centre. Then first left and walk to the waterfront. There you will find Beneluxweg 101.