Kieldrechtsluis

Port of Antwerp

Beveren, Sint-Antoniusweg 9

2011 – 2016

Deurganck and Kieldrecht

What’s in a name? Deurganckdoksluis (lock of the passing-through dock) is a difficult name to pronounce. Port alderman Marc Van peel wants to start a competition for a better name for the lock.

Why a post about a lock? The port of Antwerp is 10 times the size of the city and almost the biggest of Europe. I had the possibility to visit the dry lock, which will be (when finished) the biggest lock of the world! The harbour is close to town, but there are a few opportunities to visit it behind the scenes.

Impressive numbers

Not convinced? Maybe these data will:

The lock is 500m long and 68m wide, depth: 17,8m. The doors are 80m long and 30m high.

They used 800 000m³ reinforced concrete and 22 000 ton construction steel (3 times more than the Eiffeltower).

Graffiti art work: 320 m x 9m, only visible at low tide by artist Gunther Baeyens (Cazn)