News – July 10, 2008
The Dutch authorities have finally agreed to the deepening of the Scheldt River, which means good news for the Belgian port of Antwerp.
In recent days, the lower house of Parliament in the Netherlands has finally agreed to the deepening of the River Scheldt.
The four Scheldt treaties, which were concluded between the Netherlands and Flanders at the end of 2005, deal with nature management, traffic management, better anti-flood measures and the depending of the river.
Flanders approved the treaties at the beginning of 2007 while the Netherlands approved them earlier thsi week.
Flemish Prime Minister Kris Peeters said he was pleased that the Dutch have finally approved the treaties, and expects dredging works to begin in the Netherlands in 2008.
Dredging began on the Flemish side of the Scheldt at the end of 2007.