The general purpose of Maatschappij Linkerscheldeoever (MLSO) is statutory and laid down in law. Important items in that regard are Article 8 of the Act of 19 June 1978 (the Chabert Act) and the amendment made to it by the Port Decree of 2 March 1999.
The overall purpose of the company is defined as follows:
"The purpose of the Company is to determine the land policy for the port area on the left bank of the Scheldt, the industrial policy for the industrial zone located within that port area and to define the subregional policy regarding the further development and phasing of the port area on the left bank of the Scheldt."
How MLSO will meet this overall objective is clarified in the Strategic Vision to 2050 and the Policy Plan 2025-2030. Based on both documents, an annual strategic memorandum is drawn up and approved at the Extraordinary General Meeting held in December.
Strategic vision
In 2024, MLSO worked with its key stakeholders to develop a renewed strategic vision for 2050, which builds on the strategic vision 2015-2030.
This was approved at the Ordinary General Meeting held on 4 June 2025. Read the full version here:
Policy plan 2025-2030
Based on the renewed strategic vision, the policy plan 2025-2030 was prepared, which formulates operational objectives for the realisation of the strategy.
This was approved at the Ordinary General Meeting held on 4 June 2025. Read the full version here:
Strategic Memorandum 2026
In the strategic memorandum, both the strategic and operational objectives are restated in full, so that the framework within which the (strategic) actions fit is clearly displayed once again.
In order that the strategic and operational goals can become reality, MLSO links them with specific actions each year. These actions can be either an ongoing activity undertaken by MLSO, or a one-time activity. Some actions are fully taken up by MLSO, while others are carried out in collaboration with partners. MLSO can have varying roles, either as an initiator or implementer, or as a participant in a process. The MLSO team developed actions for 2026 that were linked to the various operational objectives.
After determining the 78 actions for 2026, 17 actions were designated as strategic actions for MLSO. These actions have been explicitly included in the 2026 Strategic Memorandum.
Read the full Strategic Memorandum 2026 here: