Around 55,000 HGVs over 3.5 tonnes travel towards Antwerp every day, with some 16,000 – around 30% – heading for the port, according to infrastructure agency Lantis. With major infrastructure works adding further pressure to an already heavily used road network, Lantis and Port of Antwerp-Bruges are now backing ten projects intended either to move freight away from road altogether or shift truck movements outside peak hours.
The projects were selected from more than 30 applications following an open call launched at the end of 2025. Together, they will receive almost €1 million in support over a maximum period of two years.
The selected schemes range from new rail and barge services to night logistics and technology designed to reduce empty truck journeys.
New rail and barge services among ten projects
Six of the projects focus primarily on transferring more cargo to rail or inland waterways. Steel and logistics group Duferco plans to launch a new rail connection between Antwerp and La Louvière, while INEOS Phenol and LLH intend to replace a substantial share of existing truck movements with block trains.
PSA Antwerp will seek to move more containers between terminals by rail and make greater use of existing rail capacity.
Meanwhile, Hutchison Ports is backing a fixed inland-waterway connection between Willebroek and Antwerp, while AFC and ADPO plan to increase the capacity and infrastructure available to an existing barge service.
Katoen Natie will develop a logistics hub designed to consolidate container flows, cut waiting times and improve movement through the port.
Van Moer Logistics is responsible for two of the ten selected schemes.
One will introduce a weekly rail connection between the Port of Antwerp-Bruges and the company’s terminal in Brussels, with Van Moer targeting the transfer of 2,392 TEU to rail.
Its second project focuses directly on road freight: Van Moer says it wants to shift 19,500 container movements into night-time operations, using existing infrastructure outside the busiest traffic periods.
More freight operations to move into the night
Night logistics also forms part of DP World’s selected project. The terminal operator plans to extend container handling further into the night, spreading activity over a wider part of the day and creating additional handling capacity for inland-waterway traffic.
The tenth project comes from logistics technology company Antser, which will develop a digital collaboration tool intended to improve container planning, reduce empty journeys and cut unnecessary crossings of the Scheldt.
The programme therefore goes beyond simply transferring cargo from trucks to trains or barges. Authorities are also targeting when trucks travel, how loads are consolidated and whether journeys need to take place at all.
Funding tied to additional impact
The funding scheme allows individual companies to receive up to €100,000, while consortium projects can receive up to €200,000, with public funding covering a maximum of half of the project cost.
Existing logistics services were eligible, but only where applicants could demonstrate that the funding would create additional measurable impact. Projects aimed merely at maintaining an existing modal shift were not enough.
Applicants were also required to show that successful projects had a realistic prospect of becoming part of their normal operations after the funding period ends.
The scheme specifically targets reductions in congestion during busy daytime periods, improved accessibility to the port and wider Antwerp region, and fewer peak-hour crossings of the Scheldt.
When the programme was launched, Flemish mobility minister Annick De Ridder said companies changing the way they organise freight could avoid congested periods, bottlenecks and difficult Scheldt crossings while making their supply chains more resilient.
Lantis and Port of Antwerp-Bruges say the ten selected projects should collectively eliminate thousands of peak-hour truck journeys, although they have not published a combined numerical target for the expected reduction.
