Activities
PACO, Port Autonome du Centre et de l’Ouest, is responsible for bi- or tri-modal port management and development along the 176 km of navigable waterways in the HAINAUT province of Belgium. Present along the neighbouring LEIE, SCHELDT, the SCHELDT-MEUSE axis and the Charleroi–Brussels canal, PACO will see all of these navigable waterways, with the exception of a section of the Charleroi–Brussels canal, enlarged from 1350t to accommodate vessels of 2200 or even 4500t on the Leie in the years ahead. PACO is active along the three river access routes which will link the North Sea ports to the Ile de France region via the SEINE-NORD–EUROPE canal. With over 6,5 million tonnes of goods transhipped via the waterway every year, PACO is naturally counting on a combination of improved navigability and the completion of its own projects to become one of Europe’s leading inland ports. These projects include the terminal at TOURNAI-VAULX (2015), a rail link to the MONS-GHLIN platform (2018) and the new port zones of Comines, Pecq and PERUWELZ - La Hurtrie. These port infrastructures will increase the loading potential of several quarry basins (Western Hainaut and Soignies basin) and other industries (fertiliser, steel, chemical and oil, agro-industries, etc.), while also providing local economic development agencies (IEG, IDETA and IDEA) with effective transloading resources for our region’s Economic Activity Zones.