Need
A forward-looking solution for sludge from the Port of Antwerp
It is crucial for the waterways for shipping to offer sufficient draught in order to guarantee the future of the Port of Antwerp. Maintenance dredging work is constantly being carried out not only in the Scheldt but also in the port docks.
Dredging in the Port of Antwerp is primarily required for material that reached the docks from the Scheldt via the locks.
What happens now with the sludge?
In the Port of Antwerp docks the Antwerp Port Authority is in charge of the maintenance dredging work. Every year about 500,000 tonnes of dry matter from maintenance dredging material is disposed of on land in the port area in so-called disposal sites or stored in extra depths, so-called underwater cells - from the bottom of the docks.
The present storage capacity is, however, almost completely used up and owing to the limited scope for extension in the port area another solution has to be found.
What will AMORAS do?
The Flemish authorities and the Antwerp Port Authority are launching the forward-looking Amoras project as a sustainable solution for processing maintenance dredging material from the Port of Antwerp.
Relying on state-of-the-art environmental technology, the material is mechanically dewatered so as to limit the volume to be treated before the dredging material is stored on land within the port area. The Amoras project installations are dimensioned so that 600,000 tonnes of dry matter from maintenance dredging material can be treated every year.