The successive challenges faced by the port on the left bank of the Scheldt, and by extension the entire port of Antwerp, in 2021 required flexibility and creativity. Thanks to these efforts, the port was once again able to play its full role as one of the country's biggest economic drivers. For the eleventh year in a row, employment figures at record levels were achieved at the port on the left bank of the Scheldt and the traffic figures also saw limited growth. Several sustainable projects in and around the port on the left bank of the Scheldt also received an extra boost by a number of new partnerships concluded by Maatschappij Linkerscheldeoever (MLSO) during the past year.
Sustainable projects and strong partnerships
"MLSO believes in strong partnerships as a means of delivering projects. For example, we entered into a collaboration with the Province of East Flanders entitled 'Sustainable Waaslandhaven', joined the Border Park Groot Saeftinghe Alliance and became a gold partner of #EenhartvoorWaas organised by the Regional Fund for East Flanders. The cooperation agreement with the Province of East Flanders aims to make the port on the left bank of the Scheldt even more sustainable and to intensify the connection that exists between the province and MLSO. In the case of the Border Park Groot Saeftinghe alliance, 11 partners have joined forces to work together to develop nature, port and agriculture in the border region. And #EenhartvoorWaas, in turn, supports projects in the Waasland region aimed at enhancing the lives of people and protecting the environment. For example, MLSO is investing in local projects around the port on the left bank of the Scheldt in a variety of ways."
Boudewijn Vlegels, Chairperson of MLSO
In 2021, MLSO continued its efforts to get business excited about sustainability and innovation. Together with Natuurpunt Waasland, a plan was drawn up for some 29 hectares of green space in and around the Waasland Logistics Park - Phase West. The first parts of this initiative have since been realised and the others are in the preparatory stages. Taken together, all of the zones will soon provide a green, pleasant and biodiverse environment for everyone who enters or passes by the Waasland Logistics Park. Since June 2021, the first wind turbines operated by Wind aan de Stroom have been active in the section of the port on the left bank of the Scheldt that is situated in Zwijndrecht. The studies in connection with Logigrid, the pilot project of VIL and Flux50, which focuses on cooperation between logistics companies in the field of energy, also continued and have now been completed. The conclusions are expected later this month.
Eleventh record in a row for employment
In 2021, 21,208 direct employees (expressed in FTEs) were working in the port on the left bank of the Scheldt. This represents a limited increase (+0.8%) compared to 2020. This figure encompasses several trends: for example, the number of port workers increased by 410 FTE, while the number of agency workers decreased by 373 FTE. In the part of the port located in Beveren, which mostly provides employment in the logistics-related positions, employment once again increased by 208 FTE (+1.5% compared to 2020), whilst in the section of the port located in Zwijndrecht, which mostly provides employment in the industrial sector, a decrease occurred for the third year in a row (31 FTE fewer than in 2020). This was possibly caused by a lack of expansion investment coupled with increased operational efficiency.
"By means of the new industrial/logistical site De Bieshoek, envisioned within the ECA complex project in the Zwijndrecht section of the port on the left bank of the Scheldt, MLSO will eventually be able to meet the many demands for new sites at the port. That interest in these is high was evident from the results of the market consultation conducted in the autumn. As many as nine potentially interested companies provided their insights on possible uses that could be made of the site."
Boudewijn Vlegels, Chairperson of MLSO.
An atypical growth year for maritime traffic in the port on the left bank of the Scheldt
In 2021, total freight transshipment in the port of Antwerp increased again by 3.8% to 239.8 million tons of cargo. Maritime traffic in the port also grew again (+1.4%), but, for the first time in years, it performed somewhat less well than the port as a whole. The faltering container segment was notable as it was the only one to experience a decrease. Nevertheless, by far the majority of goods in the port on the left bank of the Scheldt were unloaded and loaded via containers in the past year. Container traffic on the left bank of the Scheldt accounted for as much as 73% of overall container traffic in the port of Antwerp. Liquid bulk, in turn, experienced growth of 27.9%. 6,743 ocean-going vessels arrived in 2021, up 5% from 2020. And over half of the number of ocean-going vessels calling at the port on the left bank of the Scheldt reached the terminals behind the locks via the Kallo and Kieldrecht locks, which therefore received an historically large number of ocean-going vessels.
Stable financial result
MLSO realised a positive result of 8.4 million euros after tax in 2021. Since MLSO's revenues are almost exclusively derived from long-term ground leases and concessions, crises have little impact on its financial result. EUR 2,515,817.70 of the company's earnings will be distributed to shareholders in the form of a dividend. As in previous years, the dividend was adjusted in line with the consumer price index. The dividend for the 2021 financial year therefore provides the same economic benefit to shareholders as the dividend for the 2020 financial year.
You can read the full annual report here.