Belgium: Contractor starts first excavation work for new Port House

Just over a month after construction work officially started on the new headquarters for Antwerp Port Authority, the first excavation work began yesterday. The main contractor, Interbuild nv, started breaking open the cobbles and carrying out the first excavation for construction of an underground car park. The site security enclosure and the first signs were erected last week. In the meantime the Port Authority has received “very good” BREEAM certification for the Port House project, confirming the sustainability of the new design.

Excavation

During the next few months the site at quay 63 will be transformed with among other things the excavation for construction of the underground car park and the foundations of the new building: the “front leg” of the building will rest on the bottom of the car park. The two large concrete support structures will be built next, one on the inside courtyard and one to the South of it. The steel structure of the upper part will be delivered in six modules which will be hoisted into place and attached to one another.

Once the subsidy for restoration of the former fire station has been granted by the Flemish minister responsible, Geert Bourgeois, work will start on the existing building.

Construction of the Port House is scheduled to take 33 months, so that the Port Authority can move into its new headquarters at the end of 2015.

BREEAM certification

On 14 September the Port Authority received BREEAM (British Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) certification for the Port House project, categorising it as “very good.” The provisional certificate has been granted on the basis of the design. A definitive certificate will be issued once the project has been completed, taking into account the actual construction. The assessment is based on a checklist with nine categories.