Annual Report 2008 - Port of Antwerp1% in 2008. The euro zone achieved growth of 1%, the United...

Annual Report2008

Table of contents Mission 3

1 ActiVE 7 trends in the world economy 7 Freight volumes 8 Logistics 11 seagoing ships 12 industry in the port of Antwerp 13 competitive position 13 Added value and employment 14 Hinterland transport 15 Port security 15

2 FUtURE-oRiEntED 21 new Port House 21 Expansion of the Deurganck dock 22 Renovation of the Delwaide dock 22 Work on the Van cauwelaert lock 22 Antwerp coordination center 22 Renovation of quays in the Willem dock and Bonaparte dock 23 Radars and cameras 24 Border inspection post on the left bank 24 WiFi AntWERPPoRt 25 More wind turbines 25 Amoras and dredging spoil 25 other projects 25 concession policy 26

3 AccEssiBLE 31 the port and its sea access 31 the port and its hinterland connections 34

4 REsPonsiBLE 43 strategic planning 43 the port and its environment 44

5 RELiABLE 55 Harbourmaster’s office 55 the port in the world 57 Personnel 58

6 PEoPLE 65 Governing bodies 65

7 AnnUAL AccoUnts 75 notes to the annual accounts 75 Balance sheet 82 income statement 84 Appropriation account 86 notes 87 social report 108 Accounting principles 111 statutory Auditor’s Report 119 Report of the independent Auditors 121

coLoPHon 123

3

Mission

Antwerp Port Authority strives to maximise the added value that the port of Antwerp generates for the city and the region, in a long-term way. it also has the mission of strengthening the port’s competitive position by offering a high-quality, uninterrupted service and suitably developed infrastructure.the Port Authority has the role of leading the way in terms of long-term development of the port, and promotes environment-friendly modes of transport for carrying goods to and from the hinterland. it can only carry out its mission and achieve its ambitions if it has the full support and cooperation of its employees. Mutual confidence lies at the basis of its corporate philosophy.

7 Active

1Active

tREnDs in tHE WoRLD EconoMY

The port of Antwerp and other ports in the Hamburg–Le Havre range are much affected by trends in the national and international economy. The growth in the world economy slowed down dramatically in 2008, enter-ing what is clearly a deep and long-lasting recession in the second half of the year. Whereas the world economy experienced growth of 5.2% in 2007, in 2008 this fell to 3.4% due to the financial crisis and the resulting sharp drop in demand. This in turn led to a significant drop in industrial output and world trade during the last quarter of 2008.

The emerging economies have proved to be the main engines of world economic growth in recent years. But in the present economic climate no region has been spared the reduction in growth, although there are still big differences from one region to another.

In the industrialised countries the economy expanded by an estimated 1% in 2008. The euro zone achieved growth of 1%, the United States saw its GDP rise by 1.1% while the Japanese economy shrank by 0.3%.

The stronger growth outside the euro zone is mainly due to economies experiencing rapid development. China led the way here, with growth of 9% in 2008. However, this must be set against its growth of 13% in 2007, and in 2009 it is expected to expand by only 6.7%. India too is a strong performer, with growth of 7.3% in 2008.

According to expectations the euro zone will suffer a sharper contraction in 2009 than the United States. Predictions for 2009 speak of a 2% decline in growth for the euro zone, 1.6% for the US and 2.6% for Japan. Economic activity is expected to pick up again around the world in 2010.

Antwerp Port Authority.Public mission, commer-cial operation.

8 Annual Report 2008 9 Active

Antwerp’s excellent sea access along with its position deep inland and its very extensive hinterland continue to be huge advantages for the port. A recent study of nautical access to the Scheldt for super-post-panamax vessels with an LOA of between 355 and 400 m produced positive results. Efficient vessel traffic management is an important factor here.

The freight handlers for their part are continuing to invest in efficient, high-performance container handling in Antwerp. In December 2008 three brand-new ZPMC container cranes were installed in the PSA termi-nal in the Deurganck dock. This high-tech system permits parallel handling of 2 x 20-foot and 2 x 40-foot containers. DP World for its part has created additional capacity by setting up five additional ASCs (Automatic Stacking Cranes) in its Antwerp Gateway. Meanwhile, the MSC Home Terminal has invested in additional super-post-panamax cranes, of which it now has 22.

Ro/ro

The Ro/ro volume experienced only a very slight decline of 0.3%, to 4,427,143 tonnes. In 2008, 343,285 cars were imported and 618,388 ex-ported. The total number increased by 2.3%, to 961,673.

In August ICO put a new 6,000 m² warehouse into operation to centralise its ARC (American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier) activities. This company spe-cialises in home removals, operating five PCTC vessels with a capacity of 6,000 CEU (Car Equivalent Units) between Europe and the USA and offer-ing a weekly service from Antwerp. On an annual basis ICO carries some 160,000 tonnes of vanpacks, 7,000 personally owned vehicles and 3,000 other vehicles.

In 2009 the economy of the euro zone is expected to contract even more than the US economy. Analysts speak of a fall of 2% in growth for the euro zone, 1.6% for the US and 2.6% for Japan. However, it is foreseen that the world economy will start to recover in 2010.

FREiGHt VoLUMEs

The port of Antwerp handled 189,389,545 tonnes of freight in 2008, an increase of nearly 3.5% compared with just under 183 million tonnes in 2007, itself a very good year. The figures for the first nine months were particularly good. But the last quarter clearly showed the effects of the worldwide economic downturn, although overall the port of Antwerp continued to perform relatively well.

containers

The container volume rose by 7.2% to 101,362,024 tonnes, passing the 100 million tonne mark for the first time ever. Expressed in twenty-foot equivalent units, the volume grew by exactly 6% to 8,663,736 TEU. The Deurganck dock saw its volume increase by 19.3% in comparison with 2007, handling a total of 1.8 million TEU.

The first three quarters were particularly good, with the container vol-ume expanding by 11%. Then in the last quarter of 2008 the port suffered the effects of the global financial crisis. The lines operating between the Far East and Europe experienced a particular sharp fall in volumes. The shipping companies reacted with rationalisation measures, and a number of services to Europe were axed. Despite this, the port of Antwerp is well connected to all major ports around the world, thanks in part to the strong position that it has acquired in recent years in South America, the USA, Africa and Asia.

the Antwerp Gate-way on the left bank of the scheldt.

Pctc units provide a weekly service from Antwerp.


This terminal will act as the European hub for Imerys, the world leader in production of industrial minerals.

The dry bulk volume for its part rose by 11.6% to 27,345,817 tonnes. Liq-uid bulk was down slightly, by 0.7%, to 39,316,234 tonnes. Chemicals once again produced strong growth, with an increase of 4%, thus consoli-dating Antwerp’s position as a distribution hub for chemical products.

LoGistics

One of Antwerp’s great advantages as a port is formed by its excellent links with the hinterland. Trucks never have to drive more than a kilome-tre away from the waterfront to be on the European motorway network.

As for rail transport, the main hub lies within the port area. In 2008 work started on additional rail terminals and a new rail tunnel. Together with the work being carried out on the bridges over the Albert canal (widen-ing and raising the clearance underneath them) this will further increase the market share of rail and barge transport in connections with the hin-terland.

Thanks to the excellent logistics connections and the more than 400 Eu-ropean distribution centres in and around the port area, Antwerp is the ideal centre for primary and above all secondary distribution centres. Next-day services play a very important role here. In the port itself there is no less than 530 ha of covered storage space available.

One important player is the Katoen Natie group, which accounts for near-ly a quarter of the total storage facilities. This group is a world player in storage and distribution, as well as providing added value services such as bagging, bulking, storage and distribution, right up to the customer.

conventional/breakbulk

After an extremely good year in 2007, when there was an exceptionally high volume of steel from Asia, the conventional/breakbulk volume fell by 14.5% to 16,938,327 tonnes. The main reason for this was the drop of 14.5% in the steel volume, to 10,465,953 tonnes. The amounts of forest products, sugar and granite also declined. On the other hand there were higher volumes of fertiliser, chemicals, flour and fruit.

Last year there were various large investments in the port. In addition to DP World (five-year investment plan) and Wijngaardnatie (first All-Weath-er Terminal), ABES invested in renovation of the forequay in the 5th dock. Thanks to this investment of 5 million euros, which included extending the quay length by 350 metres and acquiring a new Gottwald crane, ABES has been able to considerably raise its productivity.

MACS Shipping, one of the most important breakbulk carriers in the port of Antwerp, signed a long-term contract with Nova & Hesse-Noord Natie Stevedoring (NHS) for handling its services from Antwerp to South Afri-ca. CCNI too decided to move its South American and Caribbean services from the NHS breakbulk terminal to quay 336.

The Brazilian company Votorantim is building its European hub for fruit juice and pulp in Antwerp, for which it has taken over a part of the termi-nal from Westerlund (in the Vrasene dock). Metals such as aluminium and zinc are also stored here. The facility covers an area of 7 hectares, includ-ing 2.4 ha of covered storage space.

Bulk

The amount of bulk freight handled rose by 4% to 66,662,051 tonnes, with dry bulk experiencing the largest growth. Among others the trading activities and the start-up of a new, dedicated mineral terminal (Sea-Invest) in the 6th dock contributed to this positive development.

Antwerp is still the largest break-bulk port in Europe.

new dedicated minerals terminal.

Logistics with extensive added-value activities.


inDUstRY in tHE PoRt oF AntWERP

Private companies in the port invested heavily in new technology and in expanding their potential, with industrial and chemical companies lead-ing the way. Examples include the following.

Evonik Degussa Antwerpen is the world leader in speciality chemicals and is building a new production plant for isobutene. This is due to enter production in late 2010, with an annual capacity of 110,000 tonnes.

The German group Lanxess is investing 10 million euros in a new pro-duction process for its plant in the port of Antwerp. Its rubber chemicals division acts as a knowledge centre for rubber chemistry, and with this investment Lanxess aims to bolster the competitive position of this Flem-ish facility.

Under the name of “Antwerpen-Co-Lay” a consortium of AGT, Air Liq-uide, Air Products, Fluxys and Vitol Terminals is laying some 40 km of pipeline over a distance of 11 km parallel to the Scheldelaan road.

ITC Rubis Terminal Antwerp, a joint venture between Rubis and Mitsui & Co, is putting a new terminal for storage and handling of liquid chemical bulk into operation in mid-2009. In the first phase, additional capacity of 110,000 m³ is being built. When it is completed, the jetty will be able to serve six ocean tankers, coasters and barges simultaneously. Work also started in 2008 on construction of the first 22 tanks, which are due to be ready for use by mid-2010.

Ineos Oxide for its part took an unusual initiative to find uses for empty pieces of land for which it cannot obtain permits for chemical activities, making them available instead to companies that serve the chemical in-dustry.

Talke is building a 30,000 m² class I warehouse for storing chemical prod-ucts. The logistics company Van Moer has an ADR container terminal in the port, occupying a site of 168,800 m². The company has also built a tank cleaning station that has been operational since March 2008. The company’s activities complement one another strongly, and include trans-port, storage, transhipment, cleaning and repair. Construction work on the second phase has now started.

In the meantime Sika, bECO2 and Messer are also developing new activi-ties on the Ineos Oxide site. Messer is setting up a new plant for filling industrial gases on a plot of 30,000 m². Lastly, Prodac, which operates in the steel sector, is building 66,000 m² of warehousing.

coMPEtitiVE Position

In 2008 Antwerp had a market share of 16.8% of the total freight volume handled by ports in the Hamburg–Le Havre range. This put it in second place, after Rotterdam (37.4%) but in front of Hamburg (12.5%).

In 2008 the group invested in various warehouses in Loghidden City, greatly expanding its capacity.

Another leading player is Nova Natie, which like Katoen Natie covers the full range of logistics services. Further prospects are opened up by a new investment of 11 million euros in refrigerated and deepfreeze capacity right next to the Deurganck dock. A previous investment in clothing dis-tribution was carried out “at risk,” but in the course of 2008 nearly half of the available capacity was already taken up by new contracts.

Antwerp also plays a leading role in storage and distribution of coffee and cocoa, with various large players such as Molenberg Natie, Vollers, Unicontrol Commodities, Tabak Natie, Wilmarsdonk and Pacorini being active here. They too invested in storage and processing capacity during the past year.

sEAGoinG sHiPs

The number of seagoing ships calling at the port fell in 2008 by 1.7%, to 16,406. On the other hand the total tonnage rose by 2.6% to 296,400,489 GRT.

the private compa-nies have invested strongly in technol-ogy and in expand-ing their potential.


HintERLAnD tRAnsPoRt

Antwerp Port Authority strives to develop sustainable hinterland trans-port, by promoting the barge and rail modes as much as possible. In 2008 some 90 million tonnes was carried into and out of the port by barge, while rail accounted for 25 million tonnes, including both industrial and maritime freight.

In the case of maritime freight, container transport played a particularly important role, as the largest growth market over the past decade. Great efforts are being put into achieving a more evenly balanced modal mix. At present nearly 60% of all containers are carried by road, but in recent years barge transport expanded by some 3 to 5% compared with road transport. The proportion of containers carried by barge is now more than 33%, while the rail share is about 10%.

The Port Authority’s objective is to expand the barge share to 40% and the rail share to 20%. Nevertheless, road will inevitably remain an impor-tant mode of transport, due to the large volume of containers with local origin or destination.

PoRt sEcURitY

At European level, Regulation EC 725/2004 aims to improve the security of ships and port facilities, according to the requirements of the Inter-national Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, while Directive EC 2005/65 is aimed at raising the security of ports themselves. The port of Antwerp has 78 facilities that are certified by the Federal Government as meeting the ISPS requirements. The reduction from 90 (2007) to 78 ISPS facilities is mainly due to the consolidation of certain terminals and the abolition of a number of holding quays.

Antwerp was actually N° 1 for conventional/breakbulk in 2008, with a market share of 34%, followed by Bremen (19.5%), Rotterdam (15.7%) and Amsterdam (10.4%).

Antwerp is the third-largest container port in the range, after Rotterdam and Hamburg, but has been able to improve its position in the past few years. While Antwerp handled just under 16% of the total container vol-ume in 1990, in 2008 the figure had increased to 21.66%.

ADDED VALUE AnD EMPLoYMEnt

According to the most recent report by the National Bank of Belgium (edition 2008, financial year 2006) the port of Antwerp generated direct added value of 9,159 million euros. Over a period of six years (2001-2006) this is an increase of 5.7%. If indirect effects are taken into account, the port generated total added value of 18,761 million euros.

The port of Antwerp provided 64,449 jobs directly (full-time equivalents), an increase of 2.0% compared with 2005. If indirect employment is also taken into account, the port of Antwerp employs around 170,100 full-time equivalents.

After a strong performance in the first half of the year, the number of jobs handled in 2008 rose overall by 2.8%, to 1,800,087. In 2007 the total number was 1,750,491.

Vessels are as-sisted by a highly efficient tugging service.

the port of Antwerp aims for sustainable hinter-land transport.

16 Annual Report 2008

The Harbourmaster’s Security team (known by its Dutch initials of HKD/SEC) is not only responsible for monitoring the implementation of the EU regulation and directive but also acts as an operational port security or-ganisation. In 2008 another two port security controllers joined the team.

In March 2008 a team from the Directorate-General for Transport & En-ergy of the European Commission inspected three port facilities in the petrochemical sector, and no shortcomings were mentioned in the final report. Subsequently HKD/SEC began its second periodic audit campaign, partly combined with inspections by the National Authority. This paved the way for renewal of 64 certificates in 2009.

The “ISPS Exercise Manual” was drawn up to assist facilities in carry-ing out the required quarterly and annual exercises. The manual is now available on the Port Authority’s website.

Cooperative Shield, the first large-scale port security exercise, was car-ried out in October 2008, with the Federal Police, the Local Police, the Defence Department, the Province of Antwerp, the City of Antwerp, the Local Committee for Maritime Security and Antwerp Port Authority all collaborating closely. In November HKD/SEC organised an information afternoon for Port Facility Security Officers on the subjects of exercises, incident reporting and port security.

“cooperative shield”: port security is a priority.

21 Future-oriented

2Future-oriented

Antwerp Port Authority along with its private partners continues to in-vest in the future. These future developments form part of a long-term plan with the emphasis on sustainability and an even balance between economy and ecology, and with attention paid to people and surround-ing area. The list of projects presented here is not exhaustive, but simply highlights some of the larger ones.

nEW PoRt HoUsE

The Port Authority is bursting at the seams, due to an acute lack of space in its present headquarters on the Entrepot quay. Its Board of Directors therefore decided to build a new Port House on the site of the technical service on quay 63, with the existing Hansa building on that site being integrated into the new headquarters.

A Port House for the future: ambitious and progressive.

22 Annual Report 2008 23 Future-oriented

After an open call for tenders by the Flemish Government Architect, the design by the London-based firm of Zaha Hadid Architects was chosen. The design meets all the important criteria: it combines the technical and administrative services, the old Hansa building is fully integrated in the new building, and the Port Authority and the City of Antwerp will gain an iconic new landmark. The estimated construction cost is 31.5 million euros excluding VAT and architect’s fees. The building is due to be com-pleted by 2013.

EXPAnsion oF tHE DEURGAncK DocK

After completion of the third and last phase of dredging, the full quay lengths on the East and West sides of the dock have been available since 2008. The location of the final dike will not be dredged out until the sec-ond lock on the left bank of the Scheldt is completed.

REnoVAtion oF tHE DELWAiDE DocK

The MSC Home Terminal acts as the European hub for the services oper-ated by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and takes up the entire South side of the dock. With the renovation on the North side an additional 440 m of quay wall was built, offering access to post-panamax container carriers of 8,000 TEU and more. The work was completed in 2008. Two new super-post-panamax cranes were also put into operation, so that the very latest container carriers can be handled.

WoRK on tHE VAn cAUWELAERt LocK

Work started in 2008 on the Van Cauwelaert lock. Once this first phase has been completed at the end of 2009, the barge lock will be effectively out of use for a period of 13 months. The departments involved are draw-ing up an information and traffic management plan to limit the conse-quences for barge traffic as far as possible.

AntWERP cooRDinAtion cEntER

With the construction of the new Antwerp Coordination Center (ACC), the Port Authority aims to develop a centralised shipping traffic control service in collaboration with all other parties involved. 30 specialists will share the same control room, ensuring safe and smooth flow of shipping traffic to and from Antwerp and on the Scheldt. The services concerned are those of the Flemish Government (mainly shipping traffic manage-ment and pilotage), the Port Authority and various parties directly in-volved. The building will also house a general crisis centre for the Ant-werp port area. The new complex will be situated behind building A, beside the Zandvliet and Berendrecht locks.

The ACC will cost 12 million euros and is being financed by the Flemish Government and Antwerp Port Authority. The new centre is being built under open call for tender by the Flemish Government Architect. Once it is handed over in 2013 the ACC will serve as an international reference point for the Flanders Region and Flanders Port Area maritime knowl-edge centre.

REnoVAtion oF QUAYs in tHE WiLLEM DocK AnD BonAPARtE DocK

The newly renovated quays around the Willem and Bonaparte docks were officially inaugurated in 2008. They now feature paving with blue hardstone cobbles, benches with a view of the marina, and clumps of trees. The work was carried out in several stages. Renovation of the En-trepot quay started in January 2007, followed by the Godefridus quay and Zeevaart street. Subsequently in 2007 and 2008 it was the turn of the St. Laureis quay and the St. Aldegondis quay. The contractor completed the last work in June 2008, with the final cost coming to more than 4.5 mil-lion euros.

the redeveloped quays: the old port area has come back to life.

inauguration of the new tower beside the Kallo lock in the presence of minister-president Kris Peeters.


WiFi AntWERPPoRt

Towards the end of 2008, Antwerp Port Authority made its new WiFi ANTWERPPORT system available to customers throughout the dock complex. The number of the Port Authority’s own vessels that make use of this wireless internet system will be considerably expanded in 2009, in particular the tugs and dredgers. There is growing interest in WiFi ANTWERPPORT, and a campaign will be mounted in 2009 to inform as many potential customers as possible about the possibilities and advan-tages of this network.

MoRE WinD tURBinEs

In 2008 Antwerp Port Authority further expanded its projects for alterna-tive and green energy. A great deal of preparatory work was carried out for the construction of 38 wind turbines. Four turbines were handed over in 2008, and the number of concession agreements rose to 19.

AMoRAs AnD DREDGinG sPoiL

A very large amount of dredging spoil from the port has to be disposed of every year. Antwerp Port Authority is collaborating actively with the Flemish Commission for Integrated Water Policy in drawing up quality objectives for the underwater bottom ground in the docks and cleaning it up.

Several projects for processing and disposing of maintenance dredging spoil are now getting up to cruising speed. One of these is Amoras (the Dutch abbreviation for Antwerp Mechanical Dewatering, Recycling and Applications of Sludge). The Amoras project involves construction and operation of a plant for mechanical dewatering of dredging spoil, with chamber filter presses. The plant is due to be ready for operation in 2011. The Flemish Region has issued a permit for constructing underwater holding cells in the Churchill dock, to cover the period until 2011, and has given approval for an additional cell.

otHER PRoJEcts

Work aimed at providing a definitive solution to subsidence in the Europa terminal was completed in 2008. At the same time the Port Authority had fenders replaced at a cost of 2.3 million euros, while PSA HNN renewed the quay surfacing.

RADARs AnD cAMERAs

The Flemish Government is carrying out VTS (Vessel Traffic Service) investments in the four Flemish seaports. The aim of these projects is to ensure perfect coordination and interoperability between the government systems and those used within the port areas. In the Antwerp port area, six radar stations have been built on behalf of the Flemish Government and the Port Authority. In addition a number of cameras have been in-stalled in order to permit even better control of shipping. Four of the cameras are already operational, and over the next two years it is planned to build another four radar stations, each with two cameras. One site with two cameras beside the Kallo lock (on the left bank) is under construction.

BoRDER insPEction Post on tHE LEFt BAnK

Antwerp Port Authority is building (and financing) a new border inspec-tion post near the Deurganck dock, where the various federal authori-ties will be able to control the growing flow of goods on the left bank of the Scheldt. The Customs, the Shipping Police and the Federal Agency for Safety of the Food Chain will all have a permanent base in this fully equipped inspection centre. The Customs will have two scanning tunnels for suspect containers, while the Shipping Police will have its Waasland-haven Post here. The new border inspection post will open in 2009. The total cost for the new facility is 10.7 million euros.

Green energy for a sustainable port.

WiFi AntWERPPoRt: free internet on the water.


volved, including POM Limburg, LPL, various municipalities in Limburg, LRM and De Scheepvaart.

The foreland was also explored for projects that could lead to further eco-nomic development of the port. Depending on the opportunities found, and after in-depth analysis, various new projects may be set up.

Market consultation for saeftinghe Development Area

With a view to further expansion of the port on the left bank of the Scheldt, a market consultation round for the Saeftinghe Development Area started in October 2008. The main aim of the consultation carried out by the Port Authority and the Scheldt Left Bank Corporation was to determine the interest among market players for setting up shop on this area of approximately 1,073 ha. In the consultation, around 1,000 compa-nies all over the world were sounded about their interest in operating a tidal dock for container handling, and about their interest in industrial and logistic projects.

concEssion PoLicY

concessions and real estate policy

After the Board of Directors confirmed at its meeting on 3 July 2007 that concessions were the foundation stone of the entire port policy, it became clear that the General Conditions had to be revised, especially since the European Commission had adopted a number of principles that were in conflict with the existing conditions.

In 2008 the Port Authority continued the work of preparing these revi-sions. Constructive talks were held with the associations representing various interest groups within the port (KVBG, ABAS, VOKA and Al-faport) to arrive at a modern, appropriate concession policy. The final document strikes a balance between the interests of the public authori-ties and the private partners.

New land was also acquired for the port, which will be made available in mid-2009 by a wide-ranging consultation round. The side is located in the heart of the port and has both road and rail access.

Further concessions were granted in the Deurganck dock on the left bank of the Scheldt. As a result, DP World’s Antwerp Gateway Terminal on the East side of this tidal container dock had an area of 1,251,595 m² at the end of 2008. On the West side of the dock, Antwerp Port Authority has made the full concession of 1,997,064 m² available to the concession holder PSA HNN.

Energy policy

The multidisciplinary Energy workgroup was set up in 2008 to evalu-ate various energy projects and assess new opportunities. A number of investors declared themselves willing to build coal- and gas-fired power stations in the port area and to set up a solar power network. The Port Authority also worked further on its projects for alternative and green energy.

Hinterland and foreland

On 13 October 2008, Antwerp Port Authority’s Management Committee and Board of Directors approved the hinterland policy proposed by the Hinterland & Foreland Project team. In its strategic note the team plead-ed for reinforcing the port’s maritime, industrial and logistical position, creating the necessary space for new business and achieving a more bal-anced modal split. This paper in turn formed the basis for a questionnaire sent to private companies. From the reactions it emerged strongly that private companies are increasingly aware of the importance of hinterland policy.

In collaboration with interested parties in the province of Limburg, the vision note titled “Antwerp-Limburg Logistics” was given further shape, so as to arrive in 2009 at a collaboration agreement with the parties in-

THE SCHELDT LEFT BANK CORPORATION

2500 acres in the heart of EuropeLooking for space to grow? The Port of Antwerp’s Saeftinghe Development Area and a possible tidal dock will offer rarely seen opportunities for growth for a wide range of maritime, logistics and industrial projects. Drawing on the superior location and infrastruc-ture of the Port of Antwerp, the Saeftinghe Development Area will further strengthen Antwerp’s position as one of the largest, most efficient ports in Europe. Do not miss this opportunity. Submissions for the initial market consultation are due on 31 January 2009.www.portofantwerp.com/sda

Broaden your horizonLooking for space to grow? The Port of Antwerp’s Saeftinghe Development Area and a possible tidal dock will offer rarely seen opportunities for growth with a surface area of some 2500 acres. Drawing on the superior location, facilities, ex-pertise and productivity of the Port of Antwerp, the Saeftinghe Development Area will further strengthen Antwerp’s position as one of the largest, most efficient ports in Europe. Expres-sions of interest are now being accepted for a wide range of maritime, logistics and industrial projects. Submissions for the initial market consultation are due on 31 January 2009.

www.portofantwerp.com/sda

THE SCHELDT LEFT BANK CORPORATION

saeftinghe Develop-ment Area: the port of Antwerp looks resolutely towards the future.

31 Accessible

3Accessible

tHE PoRt AnD its sEA AccEss

Deepening of the scheldt

The third deepening of the Western Scheldt will guarantee tide-inde-pendent navigation for ships with a draft of up to 13.10 metres, and within certain tide windows ships with a draft of as much as 16.20 me-tres will be able to reach Antwerp without difficulty. For this it will be necessary to dredge away shallows (“thresholds”) at 11 points over the whole course of the Western Scheldt, from Flushing to 500 m above the Deurganck dock. Accessibility, nature conservation and flood protection are the three main principles of the dredging programme, with the work due to be completed by the end of 2009.

Accessibility, nature conservation and flood protection. the dredging service knows the scheldt intimately.

32 Annual Report 2008 33 Accessible

The four treaties that have gone through the full ratification procedure are as follows: The treaty for drawing up the Development Sketch 2010, with agreements ·about carrying out and financing the dredging work and the necessary nature conservation measures during the initial period. The treaty au-thorises the province of Zeeland to carry out the nature conservation measures on behalf of the Netherlands. The treaty on collaboration in the field of management of the Scheldt es- ·tuary, aimed at achieving closer collaboration between the governments of both countries in the fields of accessibility of the Scheldt ports, nature conservation and flood protection. The treaty on joint nautical management of the Scheldt estuary, with ·closer collaboration in this area. This treaty is a formalisation of the existing situation, and means that the Netherlands and Flanders bear joint responsibility for the safe, smooth flow of shipping traffic. For this purpose the Flemish-Dutch Permanent Commission for Supervision of Scheldt Navigation has been tasked with among other things drawing up a safety plan. The treaty on de-linking of pilotage fees, bringing an end to the situation ·whereby fees in Antwerp and Rotterdam have been linked to each other under the terms of another treaty dating back more than 150 years.

second lock on the left bank

Construction of a second lock giving access to the dock complex on the left bank is a priority project for development of the port, since it is essen-tial in order to avoid further development of the port being compromised. At the moment the dock complex is served by only one lock, and the pri-vate companies have long been pressing for a new lock to be built.

However, construction of such a lock (the biggest in the world) demands a great deal of preparation work in the form of studies and simulations, including a technical implementation study and a social costs/benefits analysis. A number of studies are now being carried out. Actual construc-tion of the lock is expected to take about four and half years.

The Port Authority has declared itself willing to contribute towards fi-nancing the lock, subject to certain conditions that have yet to be laid down. But whatever conditions are eventualy decided, they will have to be the same as for similar investments in other ports; in other words, there has to be a level playing field.

chain approach

Shipping movements on the Scheldt and within the port cannot be man-aged in isolation, without reference to one another; they have to form part of a connected chain of vessel traffic management. In order to ensure efficient operation of the port of Antwerp in commercial and operational terms, it is also necessary for the Port Authority to participate in traffic management on the Scheldt. To meet these specific requirements, the “chain approach” has been developed at the initiative of the Port Author-ity.

Of the 16,000 or so seagoing ships calling at Antwerp each year, some 1,500 are dependent on the state of the tide. After the deepening work has been completed some 70% of these will no longer be tide-dependent. The remaining 30% will have wider tide windows available, and so a greater range of navigation options.

The dredging work has been entrusted to the consortium Tijdelijke Handelsvereniging Zeeschelde, made up of Dredging International NV, Ondernemingen Jan De Nul NV and Baggerwerken Decloedt & Zn. A total of around 14 million m³ of dredging spoil will be removed, more or less equally divided between the Western Scheldt (from the mouth of the Scheldt to the Dutch-Belgian border) and the Lower Scheldt Estuary (from the border to Antwerp).

The navigation channel will also be widened to 370 m, from the Europa terminal to 500 m upstream from the Deurganck dock. The thresholds will be dredged away in order from East to West.

The dredging work in 2007 already cost 42 million euros, and for further work in 2008 another 58 million was paid out. Thanks to this deepening, Antwerp’s competitive position will be significantly improved, with the expected transport benefits for Flanders estimated at anything from 0.7 to 1.1 billion euros between now and 2030.

Ratification of the scheldt treaties

After the four Scheldt treaties were approved by the First Chamber of the Dutch States General on 8 July 2008, these treaties were formally ratified by the representatives of the Flemish and Dutch governments on 28 Au-gust, so that dredging work can at last start on the Dutch side of the bor-der as well. On the Flemish side the work was already completed in 2008.

A second lock on the left bank of the scheldt, a priority for development of the port.


The volume of barge freight is forecast to be more than 115 million tonnes by 2018.

Antwerp Port Authority has an action plan for consolidating and expand-ing the role of barge transport within the port, in consultation with all players involved. Its Strategy & Development Department already drew up a Master Plan for Barge Transport in 2007, aimed at concentrating cur-rent and future freight projects and streamlining their management in a proactive way. Numerous projects in the Master Plan were put into prac-tice in 2008.

The study of smaller container volumes was continued, and the results showed that consolidation can yield overall cost advantages, especially when the goods are carried by barge. One or more business cases will be drawn in 2009 using actual figures, with a view to possible pilot projects.

In parallel with this, consultation is being carried out with regard to further streamlining of container barge handling within the port. These consultations started in January 2008 with exploratory talks between freight handlers, barge operators, waterway operators and the Port Au-thority. With the signing of a charter in September 2008 both the terminal operators and the barge operators agreed on a series of procedures to make handling more efficient. Container barges are being equipped with a positioning system to determine their location, and the development of an automated pre-planning system that reconciles advance requests for handling slots with the available handling capacity is being looked at.

Also as part of the Master Plan, a Barge Traffic System (BTS) was intro-duced in 2007. This enables barges to sign in electronically and request handling slots at the container terminals operated by MSA-HNN and DP World. The system was further refined in 2008, and a BTS datamart was developed to assist in the task of internal data analysis. The BTS offers a simple way for barges to pre-announce their arrival, and permits trans-parent planning. In 2008 the first steps were also taken towards extend-ing the BTS to other types of freight, starting with tanker barges.

In the meantime the bridges over the Albert canal are being raised to 9.10 m and the width underneath them is being increased so that contain-

This approach takes into account the entire chain of navigation as a whole, rather than the interests of individual parties. In order to guaran-tee safe, smooth, efficient movements to and from the port of Antwerp it is necessary to take account of the local situation within the port, berth management and lock planning, as well as safety considerations. This means that the vessel traffic management has to manage all navigation to and from the port, sailing upstream and downstream. In view of the great economic and commercial interests at stake, the Port Authority is able to specify which ships are given priority in entering or leaving the port, with due consideration of course being given to safe navigation.

The chain approach along with the principle of joint nautical manage-ment is included in the nautical section of the treaty signed between Flanders and the Netherlands on 21 December 2005. The aim of the chain approach is to optimise the organisation and coordination of shipping traffic management, from the pilot boarding/drop-off point to the berth in the port. Under this system the Joint Nautical Authority, the Flemish and Dutch Pilotage, the Harbourmaster’s Office, the Unie van Redding- en Sleepdienst (tugging and salvage company), Brabo (floating crane) and the Port Authority’s tugging service all collaborate and communicate closely with one another.

tHE PoRt AnD its HintERLAnD connEctions

Barge transport

In 2008 more than 90 million tonnes of freight was carried into and out of the port of Antwerp by barge. A quarter of this volume was made up of containers, while liquid bulk with 41 million tonnes accounted for the largest part. Despite the overall slowdown in growth it is expected that the proportion of containers carried by barge will increase rapidly. The aim is to raise the current proportion of 33% to 40% in the near future.

the chain approach, a core principle to ensure efficient vessel traffic management.

the master plan for barge transport is being implemented.


at two locations instead of the present level crossings, thus raising the capacity of the line by 30%. This infrastructure is expected to be opera-tional by 2012.

Line 24 – Montzen lineThe most important rail connection between Antwerp and Germany is currently freight line 24 via Visé and Montzen to Aachen West, known as the Montzen line. This carries some 35,000 trains every year, making it the busiest border crossing on the Belgian rail network. After comprehen-sive modernisation the only missing link was an overhead power line on an 8 km section of multiple track between Montzen and the German bor-der. This was built in 2008, so that as of mid-December electric locomo-tives are able to travel all the way from the port of Antwerp to Germany and back.

Various rail companies have taken advantage of this opportunity to in-vest in new, powerful electric locomotives that can operate in different countries, thus raising the speed and reliability of the route.

Iron RhineThe “Iron Rhine” is the most efficient rail link between the port of Ant-werp and the Ruhr area, the industrial heart of Germany. The line is about 50 kilometres shorter than the present route via Montzen, and also has lower gradients. Since 1991 several short sections of the line where it runs over Dutch territory have been closed. Belgium and the Netherlands have been negotiating for years about putting the complete line back into operation. The International Arbitration Tribunal in The Hague con-firmed in 2005 that Belgium is entitled to use the Iron Rhine, but that the Netherlands can impose a number of requirements for protection of the environment. In 2006 Belgium and the Netherlands set up a committee of independent experts to assess the cost of putting the line back into serv-ice and to come up with a formula for sharing the costs. On the basis of two independent studies, the committee decided in 2007 that the future Iron Rhine should have a minimum capacity of 72 trains per day in both directions. During meetings between the Belgian, German and Dutch transport ministers, the historic route was eventually chosen in prefer-ence to all the alternatives, and the ministers finally reached agreement on 17 November 2008. In the meantime, a proposed formula for sharing the costs is being drawn up.

Intra Port Rail ProjectIn 2008, NMBS/B-Cargo unveiled Antwerp Port Rail (AP-Rail), which unlike other rail companies will offer “last mile” services, i.e. rail trans-port between rail spurs in the port and the various terminals. This is in response to demands from the Port Authority and other rail companies to have rail transport within the port organised on a cost-efficient, safe, neutral basis by a single service provider. It allows the rail companies to concentrate on the actual long-distance transport, thus affording consid-erable time savings.

NMBS/B-Cargo was the first to respond to the Port Authority’s request, with AP-Rail making rail transport within the port available to third par-

ers can be stacked 4-high on the barges. The work started in 2008 and is being carried out in stages.

The Permanent Consultation with the VOKA Barge Commission remains the shared forum for discussing barge matters. Subjects such as degas-sing facilities for tanker barges, berthing and holding location policy, port dues, waste management and possible environmental measures are given the necessary attention within this discussion platform.

Rail transport

Ghent loopAt the end of 2008 Infrabel, the Belgian rail track operator, officially put the “Ghent loop” in Melsele into operation. This 1.3 km length of track connects directly between port line 10 on the left bank and line 59 in the direction of Ghent. The new loop also provides a direct connection to the ports of Ghent and Zeebrugge and to North-West France. This affords time savings of anything from 30 to 90 minutes, and creates additional track capacity on the existing network. The work took one and a half years and cost 10 million euros.

Liefkenshoek rail tunnelWork on construction of the Liefkenshoek rail tunnel began on 12 Novem-ber 2008. When it is completed this tunnel will provide a direct rail con-nection between the left bank (Waasland port area) and the right bank (Antwerp North marshalling yard). Train transport from among others the Deurganck dock will be faster and more efficient as a result of being able to travel directly to Antwerp North. Here, trains will be made up for onward transport to the Netherlands, Germany, the South of France and the South-East of Belgium. Trains currently have to go via the Kennedy tunnel, which is 20 km longer than the new route through the Liefkens- hoek tunnel. Furthermore, the old route has only limited capacity to deal with the expected growth in rail transport.

The Liefkenshoek rail tunnel will be 6 km long and will consist of two rail tubes underneath the Scheldt and the Canal dock. The overall length of the new rail link including the tunnel will be 16.2 km, and the total cost is estimated at 765 million euros. The construction and financing are being carried out by a public-private partnership, with about 10% of the cost being borne directly by Infrabel, the project owner. The rest of the financing will be put up by a consortium under the name of Locorail, which will also be responsible for the actual construction and for opera-tion and maintenance over a period of 38 years after the tunnel enters service. The Flemish Government is co-financing the complete project.

The basic infrastructure will be handed over by mid-2013, while the rail connection itself is expected to enter service about one year after that.

Line 271A and 2nd rail connectionThe procedures have started for making modifications to the existing rail access to the port (line 27A), with underground crossings being built

Rail policy: invest and modernise.


possible to gain a continuous, coherent picture of the traffic situation around the city and to and from the port. Furthermore, it will yield in-sight into variations in the traffic flows. This in turn will make the plan-ning of road works more efficient, and provide more detailed information about traffic patterns, thus making it possible to improve transport ef-ficiency in the longer term, by coordinating departure times with traffic density patterns.

ties at fixed, transparent prices. The Port Authority welcomes this initiative, but sees it as the starting point for other developments, both in terms of service and in terms of price. It supports AP-Rail in a non-exclusive way, through its own promotion and marketing channels.

Road transport

The Port Authority is investigating the possibility of setting up a perma-nent traffic counting network in the port, to supplement the counting net-work operated by the Flemish Traffic Centre with information from these extra locations. By permanently linking the information on freight traffic on the main road network with information on port traffic, it should be

careful monitoring of truck traffic in and around the port.

43 Responsible

4Responsible

stRAtEGic PLAnninG

In implementation of the Flemish Government Agreement of July 1999 a planning process was set up within the Flemish ports. For each port area a strategic and land use plan has to be drawn up, affording maximum protection to surrounding residential areas, maintaining and even devel-oping the ecological infrastructure inside and outside the port area, and making economical use of space, so that the economic expansion of the ports is not seen as taking up space at the cost of agriculture, nature or surrounding residential areas.

In 2008 work started on drawing up the Regional Land Use Demarcation Plan for the port. This will lead to demarcation of the port area, which is the final purpose of the Strategic Planning for the port of Antwerp.

the Regional Land Use Demarcation Plan: economy in harmony with people and nature.

44 Annual Report 2008 45 Responsible

creates added value, the Port Authority opts for an integrated approach focused on a particular area.

The Port Authority is working on an environment information system that meets the specific needs on the ground, brings together the neces-sary expertise and makes it possible to map out the overall environmen-tal situation within the port. The Port Authority is further committed to publishing an annual environmental report.

However, the Port Authority needs to be more firmly embedded within the administrative landscape, so as to meet its environmental respon-sibilities along with central and local government, and to communicate these responsibilities to the port community. Clear guidelines and central support for port users are essential here.

The annual report drawn up by the environment coordinator demon-strates that the Port Authority is already making serious efforts for the port to be able to develop in a sustainable way, as the following exam-ples show.

The Ecorise project: Ecorise stands for “ecology, river and sediment” and involves research into the morphological, hydrological and ecological developments in the Scheldt estuary and on the Belgian coast. The Port Authority’s participation in this project was approved in 2008.

In another initiative, an internal workgroup was set up last year to further draw up guidelines for the Port Authority’s energy policy. The Port Authority aims to take environmental aspects into account in the decision-making process at the earliest possible stage. Examples of this integrated approach include the exploratory investigations into expand-ing the distribution network for waste heat, support for the initiatives to supply shore power to ships at berth, expansion of the wind farm in the port area, drawing up permit conditions for fitting photovoltaic solar pan-

Demarcation Plan for the seaport area

Antwerp Port Authority is represented in the Strategic Plan workgroup, as well as the policy workgroup for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Plan for Demarcation of the Seaport Area, and the official workgroup for preparing the main programme for the Port of Antwerp Regional Land Use Demarcation Plan. Accordingly, the Port Authority is closely involved in the decision-making process for the future demarcation and develop-ment of the seaport economic area, and for demarcating core nature con-servation areas in and around the port. The Strategic Plan for the port of Antwerp, the EIS Plan and the Regional Land Use Demarcation Plan will to a large extent form the framework within which the port will be able to develop geographically between now and the 2030 planning horizon.

The Flemish Administration put the finishing touches to the EIS Plan for the port area in 2008. This plan looks at the possibilities both for expan-sion and for contraction, based on the forecast that Antwerp will handle some 300 million tonnes annually by 2030. Once this has been approved by the EIS unit, it is expected that the Flemish Government will decide on a Regional Land Use Expansion Plan in early 2010.

This plan will lay down a number of strategic guidelines for the port, such as giving priority to a second access for the Waasland port (i.e. the port area on the left bank). The plan also takes account of variants for locks at the end of the Deurganck dock. It further includes a major new road intersection in order to permit smooth flow of traffic to and from the Waasland port. Finally, the plan covers the Saeftinghe Development Area and the third phase in development of the Verrebroek dock.

tHE PoRt AnD its EnViRonMEnt

A sustainable port

With the approval of the Environment Policy Vision on 9 May 2007, the Port Authority’s Board of Directors laid down the markers for further sus-tainable development of the port. The port of Antwerp is not only a ship-ping, logistical and industrial centre of world importance, it is also the economic heart of Flanders. This has consequences for available space and the environment within it, and it is no easy task to ensure that eco-nomic growth does not result in increasing pressure on the environment. In the Port Authority’s view, care for the environment should no longer be considered as a potential obstacle to economic expansion; on the contra-ry, it should be seen as an asset that yields competitive advantage for the port community. The Port Authority aims to continue playing a pioneer-ing role here, pulling the port community along with it.

It goes without saying that the Port Authority wishes to preserve the development potential of the port as an economic gateway to Flanders. The environmental efforts being demanded of the Antwerp port commu-nity must be in reasonable proportion to the benefits that they yield for the environment. The Port Authority therefore pleads for a proactive, re-sponsible and critical approach to environmental challenges. Where that

the Port Authority takes environmental aspects into ac-count in its decision making.

A critical approach to environmental challenges.


agreed with deSingel International Art Campus, under which the Port Authority will act as the main sponsor for this art centre for five cultural seasons (2008-2013). As part of this collaboration the “Art Port” season ticket has been introduced. The Port Authority has also entered into col-laboration with deFilharmonie symphony orchestra, which will similarly be able to depend on cultural support for a period of five years.

In order to strengthen the ties between the port and Antwerp citizens, the Port Authority became a founder member of the Museum aan de Stroom (Museum on the River), and now occupies one of the museum’s pavilions. In the future, this “Port pavilion” will enable visitors to be-come acquainted with all aspects of the modern port.

In addition to these major projects, the Port Authority lends its support to all sorts of events, with special attention to sporting events and culture in the widest sense of the word. An example of this is the “elephant pa-rade,” with colourful plastic elephants around the docks in the old port and at various places in the city, combining culture with a worthy cause.

The Port Authority uses as many channels of communication as possible to inform people about the port and its activities. These include classic methods such as brochures and leaflets distributed free at events and meetings. There is also a website, and guided tours for schools and clubs are organised in collaboration with the Lillo Port Centre. The Port Au-thority further makes its library available to the public.

The first Flemish Port Day, held in 2008, was a big hit, attracting no fewer than 38,000 visitors who were able to take a look behind the scenes at more than 40 locations around the port, while another 6,000 people at-tended the job fair. The next such event will be held in 2010.

collaboration with the University of Antwerp

In 2007 a framework agreement was signed between the Port Authority and the University of Antwerp for closer collaboration in research, scien-tific services and training. This agreement reflects the concern of both bodies for sustainability of the port in general and the logistic chains in particular. Activities being developed jointly include the exchange of information, carrying out research projects and financing by the Port Authority of one or more doctoral projects at the university.

The Port Authority and the university both aim to play a pioneering role in making the economy sustainable. Already in 1999 the university signed the Copernicus Charter for exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of sustainable development between the universities that are members of the network. The Charter also promotes collaboration be-tween universities on the one hand and industry and management on the other.

Implementation of the framework agreement lies in the hands of a joint steering group that sets the priorities each year. This structural collabo-ration began formally in August 2008.

els on warehouse roofs, and initiatives for drawing up a “Rational Use of Energy” policy tailored to the requirements of the port.

For the purpose of calculating the port’s carbon footprint, in 2008 all the available data were gathered and first discussions were held with po-tential suppliers. A final choice of the method to be used will be made in 2009, after which the Port Authority’s actual footprint can be calculated in several stages.

Another example of sustainable management is the research project for environment-friendly paint systems on ships. Subsea Industries has obtained LIFE subsidies for a demonstration project for non-toxic anti-fouling paint on ships’ hulls. The partners in this project include among others Exmar, Jan De Nul, Antwerp Maritime Academy, the Dutch Direc-torate-General of Waterways and the Port Authority. In the meantime, a multi-step plan for dealing with the specific problem of uncontrolled de-gassing of tankers is being drawn up.

In 2008 a number of nature projects for which permits are required were carried out or started up under the terms of the Nature Conservation Decree. These include among others developing the Opstal valley conser-vation area (Antwerp-Berendrecht) to offset the Amoras project and the Stabroek-Antwerp A12/R2 road connection, and an alternative breeding site for black headed gulls. Finally, a plan has been drawn up for creat-ing the “Spanish Fort” nature compensation area in the zone reserved for “permanent ecological infrastructure.”

A socially committed port

Antwerp Port Authority is not only an economic player, it also plays an important role in society as a whole. As such it meets its responsibili-ties and makes contributions in the wider social field. Attention for “soft values” such as the environment, people, culture, quality of life, tourism and heritage is a basic part of its policy. In 2008 a new partnership was

Know-how, research and collaboration: the Port Authority and the University of Antwerp as pioneers.


ment signed in 2005. As in previous years, Natuurpunt supports the Port Authority in developing an ecological infrastructure network in the port area, such as the project “Antwerpse Haven Natuurlijker” (Port of Ant-werp More Naturally).

Thanks to intensive collaboration between the Port Authority, SNCB/NMBS (Belgian national rail company) and Natuurpunt, a nature devel-opment project was successfully carried out in the “Kuifeend & Grote Kreek” nature conservation area, with 40 hectares of grassland being converted into a waterfowl-friendly pond and marsh area and two reed-beds. The remaining area forms a buffer to protect against disturbances from outside.

Quality of air and water

Antwerp Port Authority, the Flemish Region and Antwerp City Council aim to further reduce emissions of particulates and NOx by means of a joint action plan. Hilde Crevits, Minister for the Environment and Nature, visited the Port Authority’s headquarters on 2 December to explain the plan in greater detail.

Although air quality in the port and in the city is improving, it still does not meet EU standards, with the daily maximum for particulates being exceeded all too often. Minister Crevits aims to improve this situation by 2011, with the help of the port and the city. Under the motto “To measure is to know” the minister announced that more measuring stations are to be set up in and around Antwerp. This will afford greater understanding of where the emissions are coming from and how they are developing.

The Port Authority also took part in the climate conference held in Rotter-dam, at which 55 ports undertook to combat air pollution. Among other things the ports will set up a worldwide indexing system for rewarding clean, sustainable ships and fining the heavy polluters.

In 2007, Antwerp Port Authority decided to start physical, chemical and biological monitoring of the water quality in the docks. These measure-ments began in 2008 and are being carried out in close collaboration with VMM, the Flemish environment company.

collaboration with ports in the congo

The repair work in the ports of Matadi and Boma in the Democratic Re-public of the Congo was finally completed at the beginning of 2008. In consultation with the Federal Government departments of Foreign Af-fairs and Development Cooperation, Antwerp Port Authority contributed additional efforts in the fields of training and capacity building.

These initiatives form part of the collaboration agreement signed on 15 November 2003 between the Port Authority and the Office National des Transports (Onatra), the state-owned company responsible for ports in the Congo. Under the terms of this agreement the Port Authority under-took to assist the Congolese Government in repairing and reorganising its ports.

source of the scheldt

Antwerp Port Authority now has responsibility for the source of the Scheldt, which rises in the northern French village of Gouy. A 50% stake in the area where the source is located was acquired by the Port Author-ity from the shipping journalists’ association Espa. The other half is owned by the municipality of Gouy. Together the two owners form the “Association Franco-Belge de la Source de L’Escaut” (Franco-Belgian as-sociation for the source of the Scheldt), which is responsible for mainte-nance and restoration of the source.

Heating with dock water

The offices in the Noordkasteelbruggen building were fitted with a heat pump system, in a first for the Port Authority. These pumps transfer heat from the dock water to the offices, replacing the previous electric heat-ing. With their location right next to the water these offices are the ideal place for this pilot project. The electric heaters have been replaced by a 40 kW heat pump with secondary LTH (low-temperature heating) radia-tors at a maximum temperature of 50°C. The old system cost 6,000 euros per year to operate, and produced emissions equivalent to 15 households.

The objective is to achieve an annual COP (Coefficient of Performance) of 5, yielding a CO2 reduction of 79%. This represents a significant energy saving with positive consequences for the environment. With projects such as these the Port Authority sets an example and also aims to raise the awareness of other port users, demonstrating how it is possible to ar-rive at a sustainable policy starting from an existing situation and with only limited costs.

collaboration with natuurpunt

In 2008 the Port Authority continued its collaboration with the Natuur-punt nature conservation society, having renewed the three-year agree-

natuurpunt and the Port Authority: fruit-ful collaboration.


In the first instance a detailed audit of the working conditions and the safety situation among the dockers in Matadi and Boma was carried out in collaboration with CEPA, the Antwerp-based employers’ organisa-tion for dockworkers. The findings were included in an action plan that was implemented by the local port authorities. The dockers will be given practical field training in loading and unloading operations and in op-erating port handling equipment and cranes. In doing so, special atten-tion will be paid to the safety of the dock work. CEPA and Antwerp Port Authority have strongly urged the Congolese authorities to abolish the existing system of hiring dockers by the day and instead to set up a pool of dockers.

A second initiative was taken in June under the leadership of Prof. Jean-Jacques Peters, under which experts from the Congolese “Régie des Voies Maritimes” were given tailor-made courses in Antwerp on management and navigability of the Congo river, with special attention being paid to hydrography, measurement techniques and dredging operations. The Borgerhout hydrological laboratory and the dredging companies Jan De Nul and DEME made their know-how and management expertise avail-able. The programme was organised by APEC - Antwerp Port Training Center. In addition, Antwerp Port Authority made five APEC scholarships available to the Congolese port authorities in 2008, for trainees to follow courses in Antwerp.

As part of the twinning between the ports of Antwerp and Matadi, fur-ther discussions were held about the long-term vision for the latter, in close consultation with the Federal Government. The basic principle is that Matadi should become a landlord port on the model of Antwerp, with Onatra being responsible for general management of the port, the basic infrastructure and the nautical access. The private sector would then be responsible for the superstructure and commercial activities such as loading and unloading operations. The practical conditions for this ap-proach formed the subject of discussions between the Congolese Govern-ment and international players such as the European Union and the World Bank. Last year the port of Matadi handled 2.3 million tonnes of freight.

Antwerp, Boma and Matadi: a future-oriented project.

55 Reliable

5Reliable

HARBoURMAstER’s oFFicE

In 2008, 16,406 seagoing ships and 95,762 barges called at the port of Antwerp. Of these barges, 61,356 had their destination in the port and 33,730 were in transit. 11,730 seagoing ships made use of a lock. In 2008 all the locks between them handled a total of 39,903 movements.

The Port Authority received 19,453 pre-announcements of arrival via the e-desk and 276 manually, together with 19,154 berth requests via the e-desk and 344 manually. The Vessel Traffic System (VTS) and the dockmasters monitored 28,872 ship movements to or from the open sea. In 2008, 2,306 ships moored in the Deurganck dock and 1,750 in the con-tainer terminals.

The Average Department of the Harbourmaster’s Office received 257 re-ports of damage to port property, 56 of them caused by unknown parties. There were 94 cases of pollution of dock water and/or quays, 32 of them by unknown parties. A total of 92,280 kg of floating rubbish was collect-ed by the Condor cleaning boat.

Finally there were 313,382 declarations for handling of dangerous goods, a rise of 8% compared with 2007 and twice the number in 1998.

tugs

The number of tugging jobs in 2007 was already 7.6% higher than in the previous year, and in 2008 it rose another 1.8% compared with 2007. The Port Authority carried out a total of 22,771 tugging jobs.

Two years ago three new tugs with a BP (bollard pull) capacity of 55 tonnes were acquired, to replace the series 70 tugs with a capacity of only 24 tonnes BP. The hulls of the new tugs were built in the Czech Re-

56 Annual Report 2008 57 Reliable

new mobile cranes

Last year Antwerp Port Authority put an additional seven mobile cranes into operation, in order to meet the rising demand from freight handlers for faster, more flexible service. The Crane Department carried out 4,676 jobs in 2008, an increase of 3.6% compared with 2007.

tHE PoRt in tHE WoRLD

The Port Authority is unrelenting in its efforts to position Antwerp more effectively in the world market. 2008 was yet another well-filled promo-tional and commercial year. In the many contacts with shippers, con-signees, forwarders, logistics groups, shipping companies, ship’s agents, interest groups and other players, attention focused on the many advan-tages of the port of Antwerp. In these promotional activities the Port Authority collaborates closely with Alfaport and private companies in the port sector. By organising Port Days, the port community contributes to the success of port promotion, while the Port Authority supports the com-panies in their contacts with local shippers.

In mid-2008 the Commercial Department was expanded with the arrival of three new business development managers.

MissionsThe Port Authority took part in the royal missions to Buenos Aires and Montevideo, Jakarta, India and Singapore. “Flanders Port Area” was launched at the end of September, with the concept being presented to the press and to the public during the mission to Japan by the Flemish Institute for Logistics. The second FPA mission went to St. Petersburg.

Trade fairsThe Port Authority participated in the usual trade fairs in 2008, but it also opted for a number of new, more sector-related exhibitions. At the trade fairs the Port Authority’s Commercial Department was able to call on wide support from private companies in the port of Antwerp. In June, POM Antwerpen and the Port Authority collaborated in the Transport Logistics exhibition in Shanghai, resulting in a full-blown mission with seminars in Ningbo, Beijing and Tianjin.

Port DaysIn 2008, Port Days were organised in Stuttgart, Mannheim, Luxembourg, Geneva, Lyons and Liège. These events are a powerful promotional tool, with an Antwerp delegation of about 30 people and drawing between 80 and 120 people each time.

Presentations and receptionsVarious notable persons visited the port of Antwerp in 2008. These in-cluded Captain Wei Jaifu, the chairman and CEO of Cosco, as well as the Secretary of State of North Rhine Westphalia and the Governor of the Port

public, and the vessels are due for delivery in late 2009 or early 2010.

The arrival of the latest generation of ultra-large container carriers and the construction of the new Deurganck dock on the left bank have made it necessary to greatly expand the tug fleet. The Board of Directors there-fore decided to place an order in 2008 to have another four tugs built with a capacity of 70 tonnes BP, with an additional option for construction of five tugs with firefighting equipment.

Dredger fleet

The Dredging Department extracted some 520,000 tonnes of dry spoil in 2008, thus once again exceeding the target of half a million tonnes. As usual, the greatest proportion was accounted for by the “Sinjoor I” suc-tion hopper dredger (290,000 TDS), while the dredging crane “De Neus” scooped up 150,000 TDS.

At the end of April the pusher barge “Den Duvel” was taken out of dry dock and moored for further finishing work to be carried out on it. By the end of 2008 all the basic components had been fitted, and the final fitting work is expected to be completed in early 2009.

A new and important step was taken in the Amoras project for mechani-cal dewatering, sand separation and disposal of maintenance dredg-ing spoil when the decision to award the contract was approved by the Flemish Government on 18 July 2008. The contract for carrying out the construction work was granted by the Flemish Minister of Public Works, Energy, the Environment and Nature, Kris Peeters, to the SeReAnt con-sortium made up of Jan De Nul nv, Dredging International nv, Envisan nv and DEC nv. Construction started on 1 October 2008 and is expected to continue into 2010.

Dredging, tugging and crane services: always available, always ready, day and night.


new grading system, combined with a new wage system and perform-ance-oriented career development opportunities.

Various projects were started up for further automating the personnel administration, to reflect new technical developments. One such project is the Chronis project for phased introduction of the new planning tool, Harmony. This is an important tool for drawing up correct, feasible work planning for those services that operate around the clock.

The age structure of the pool of employees demands a critical and crea-tive approach, along with appropriate communication towards the job market. Special projects have been set up in collaboration with VDAB and Levanto to deal with critical shortages in certain jobs.

In order to inform people more widely about employment opportunities within the port, a Job Fair was held in the Port House on 21 May. At this event the various departments of the Port Authority were able to present themselves to potential employees. Some 600 interested people attended.

On the occasion of the Port Days on 5 July, the Personnel Department organised a second Job Fair in the Waagnatie hall, this time in collabora-tion with the private sector. No fewer than 6,000 potential job-seekers visited the 50 or so stands.

Since 1 January 2008 the Port Authority has had its own personnel as-sociation. During its first year of operation it was kept very busy and gar-nered a great deal of praise.

2008 was a crucial year for personnel and for personnel policy. The new projects will be further developed and more firmly founded over the course of the next few years, with the collaboration and involvement of all members of staff. Also in that year, the Port Authority won an award as “Top Employer.”

collaboration agreements

APEC-Antwerp/Flanders Port Training CenterLast year there were no fewer than 1,300 applications to attend seminars. Antwerp and APEC were able to welcome 587 colleagues from ports in 70 different countries, while another 127 people came for short study visits and official visits.

APEC was also active outside Belgium. A successful seminar was organ-ised in South Africa on the subject of container management. In the medi-um term APEC plans to extend its “Lecturing abroad” programme to yet more countries. At the initiative of Flanders Investment & Trade an APEC Alumni Event was organised in Durban, where 100 or so port representa-tives from South Africa were able to renew their acquaintance with their colleagues in the Flemish delegation.

Thanks to the wide range of seminars, APEC was able to draw on the ex-pertise of the public and private sector once more in 2008, with 350 or so lecturers and companies lending their valued collaboration.

of Rotterdam. In addition to all these official visits, numerous customers and potential customers from all over the world were welcomed. In total nearly 5,000 visitors came to make further acquaintance with Antwerp and its port.

ConferencesThe Port Authority took part in among others Automotive Logistics in Montreux, the Logistics Forum in Duisburg, the annual conference of the NPRA (National Petrochemical & Refiners Association) and the annual conference of the EPCA (European Petrochemical Association).

Activities in AntwerpThe second Steel Logistics Conference organised by Metal Bulletin was held in Antwerp in 2008. As the main sponsor, the Port Authority was able to receive the delegates at the welcoming reception in the St. Felix Archives.

The European Breakbulk Conference for its part was held for the third time in Antwerp Expo. The Port Authority, which acted as main sponsor along with Alfaport Antwerpen, is keen to keep this important confer-ence in Antwerp for several years. With around 2,000 delegates the latest conference was the most successful so far.

Flanders Port AreaOn 22 February 2008 the four ports of Flanders Port Area signed a Code of Conduct in which they undertake to observe a number of rules in their commercial dealings with customers and investors as regards the image and position of the other Flemish ports.

To also make the other ports in Belgium better known, a joint Flemish Ports Day was organised for the first time, with great success. Flanders Port Area has drawn up a programme of initiatives. Last year these in-cluded among other things more training and introduction days organ-ised for Flemish Government officials, a four-way conference on the sub-ject of the job market, and a joint trade mission to Japan.

PERsonnEL

Last year Antwerp Port Authority signed a new Collective Labour Agree-ment, for the period 2008-2009. This contained some important qualita-tive undertakings, and confirmed various existing and planned initia-tives. As regards the qualitative HR aspects, the new selection style was introduced in 2008, and further attention was paid to career development for members of personnel, with among other things the introduction paths for new jobholders. Attention also focused on the welfare of mem-bers of personnel, with appropriate work, a policy for absence from work, an age-conscious personnel policy, continuation of the alcohol and drugs policy, etc.

A start was made last year with development and implementation of a

Port Alderman Marc Van Peel, cosco cEo captain Wei Jaifu, Governor cathy Berx and Liu Guojin (Far East staff member).

Personnel make the port: Antwerp Port Authority as “top Employer.”


For the Environment unit of the Integrated Water Management Depart-ment, a GeoPort project was set up that provides everything necessary for water management and testing, based on internal data plus data inte-grated from external partners.

Under the terms of the collaboration agreement with the Left Bank Cor-poration, the GIS database was extended with a dataset for long-term leases. Partnership agreements were also signed with the Land Registry and Lillo Port Centre.

INFRA is the universal framework for basic components on which all Java applications can build further. Successive releases in 2008 included an Event Driven Architecture for central management of events that can be generated by applications or modules, or to which they can subscribe. Further, the Mail Manager for managing messages was developed, as were a test application for testing all the INFRA features and integration schemes and an extension of the Application Metrics. By the end of 2008, INFRA version 2.0 included among other things the importing of person-nel data from the SAP master file in order to distribute them to all other applications, together with extended security for roles, groups and com-pany activities.

Printers, copiers and scanners were replaced with central and subcentral multifunctionals, for greater sustainability. Additional cost savings were achieved by printing less whenever possible, and by printing on both sides of the paper when necessary.

Finally, the new house style was implemented at the beginning of 2008.

As in previous years there were various foreign missions, this time to the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, China, Vietnam and South Africa. New col-laboration agreements were made with Vietnam, Egypt and China.

AmarisAmaris is the Antwerp Maritime Information System. The preliminary studies for APICS2 (v. 2 of the Antwerp Port Information & Control Sys-tem) were completed in 2008 with the drawing up of a four-stage release plan. Given the specific nature of the port of Antwerp there are no suit-able off-the-shelf nautical packages available, and so it was decided to develop this mission-critical software in-house. A wiki application was set up to document the local business context and the various procedures in the ports, for better understanding between the ports involved. A minor release on the BTS (Barge Traffic System) met an important re-quirement of the application operator for use of the barge register. Origi-nally developed for container carriers, the system was eventually made available to all barge operators.

In accordance with the new Hazmat regulations, fully automatic han-dling of the procedure by means of XML messages was implemented, making Belgium one of the leaders in this field. In 2008, 1.4 million EDI messages and 1.8 million XML messages were sent.

An innovation project in collaboration with S/ELA for identifying and locating vessels included an adapter by means of which APICS is able to enter “position updates” and “events” based on data from the AIS (Auto-matic Identification System) in combination with the radar information.

The “Reporting and handling of dangerous goods” and “Calls and move-ments by seagoing ships” datamarts were mashed together in MISHA (the Port Authority’s Management Information System), so as to permit more detailed analysis and reporting. Meanwhile, further variables were added to the BTS data warehouse so as to permit more detailed examina-tion of barge container transport.

Several Sesam modules became operational in October 2008, for which an Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system was set up.

The preliminary investigation was completed for the system of managing tenders for government contracts for construction projects, supplies and services, and for the progress reports. The 3P software product will be supplemented by a specific workflow developed in-house.

The Unifact2 financial application went into production in mid-2008, as the first step towards renewing the invoicing procedure. Aspects such as sustainability, cost reduction, space saving and efficiency gains are also applied here. Direct electronic archiving of the invoices not only saves paper but also enables customers to call up their invoices online.

In 2008 there was a technological switch in the GIS production environ-ment, from the old ARC/INFO application running on UX systems to the new ArcGis on Windows servers. The GeoView application, used by spe-cialists to draw maps, for its part was superseded by ArcCarto.

Alumni of APEc-Antwerp 2008: sharing know-how and experience.

Antwerp Port Authority, a house with style.

65 People

Eddy Bruyninckx CEO Antwerp Port Authority

Wouter De Geest CEO BASF Antwerpen nvDirector and bureau member of Voka

Marc Van Peel Alderman for the port and personnelChairman Antwerp Port Authority

6People

GoVERninG BoDiEs

Board of Directors

66 Annual Report 2008 67 People

Patrick Janssens Mayor

Annick De Ridder Open VLD city councillor

Erwin Pairon Groen! city councillor

Bart De Wever N-VA city councillor

Philip Heylen Alderman for culture and tourism

Rudi De Meyer Managing Director Alfaport Antwerpen

Peter Symens Policy Officer Natuurpunt

Jan Penris Vlaams Belang city councillor

Peter Deckers Chairman of the Company for Land and Industrialisation Policy on the Left Bank of the Scheldt

Jozef Foubert Chairman of the Land van Waas Intermunicipal Company


Eva Wuyts sp.a city councillor

Antoon Colpaert

Regional Port commissioner

Robert Voorhamme Alderman for education, economy, employment and self-employment

Toon Wassenberg sp.a city councillor

Management committee

Jan Adam Financial Manager

Eddy Bruyninckx General Manager (Chairman)

Bruno Valkeniers Vlaams Belang city councillor

Ludo Van Campenhout Alderman for city development, sport and diamonds

Greet Bernaers Infrastructure Manager


secretary

supervision

Luk Laerenbergh

Supervision of financial management is entrusted to a college of three auditors, appointed by the City Council. They are the auditing firm of Deloitte & Touche Bedrijfsrevisoren, represented by Piet Demeester (auditor) (photo on the left), and city councillors Ann Coolsaet (photo in the midddle) and Guy Lauwers (photo on the right).

Jan Verbist Harbourmaster

Christiaan De Block Chief Operations Officer

75 Annual Acounts

7Annual Accounts

notEs totHE AnnUAL AccoUnts

inCoME STATEMEnT

The summarised income statement of the Port Authority is given in the following table.

In 2008 the Port Authority made a profit of 111.9 million euros. This result was achieved since:

∙ income from nearly all divisions of the company developed positively, thanks to the higher level of activity in the port, especially during the first three quarters of 2008;

∙ however, operational costs increased more than proportionately, as a result of new structural wage agreements and additional provisions for environmental risks.

∙ a capital gain was made on the sale of sites in the Eilandje area (see “Extraordinary income”).

( in euro x 1,000 ) financial year 2008 financial year 2007 financial year 2006

Operating income 322,968 302,281 287,749

Operating charges (235,203) (214,521) (214,205)

Operating profit 87,765 87,760 73,544

Financial proceeds 19,544 19,788 21,580

Financial charges (6,970) (8,079) (10,282)

Profit on ordinary activities 100,339 99,469 84,842

Extraordinary income 12,204 95 718

Extraordinary charges (540) (351) (385)

Profit before taxes 112,003 99,213 85,175

Taxes (67) (32) (17)

Profit for the financial year 111,936 99,181 85,158

76 Annual Report 2008 77 Annual Acounts

The tugging service experienced a higher level of activity, with 1.9% more tugging jobs and also a larger number of slings. Since fuel prices continued to rise during the first three quarters of 2008, the fuel supple-ments charged also increased, in turn leading to an additional rise in turnover.

The turnover for electricity rose to 11.9 million euros, compared with 10.9 million in 2007, due to higher rates charged in the capacity of grid manager.

After a year of stabilisation, the dock cranes again continued the upward growth trend of previous years. This led to strong growth for the mobile cranes, partly offset by a further decline in the contribution by rail-mounted cranes. The turnover from floating cranes rose further, mainly as a result of one particular contract which in the mean time however has now come to an end.

Other operating income in 2008 amounted to 51.7 million euros, com-pared with 48.0 million in 2007. It was made up to a large extent by oper-ating subsidies from the Flemish Region (30.1 million euros in 2008 and 24.2 million euros in 2007). These subsidies are a contribution towards the costs incurred by the Port Authority in carrying out tasks which under the terms of the Port Decree are the responsibility of the Flemish Region.

As in 2007, other operating income in 2008 included water collection charges and withholding tax on income from real estate that were passed on, totalling 15.9 million euros (15.7 million in 2007).

operating costs

The following chart shows a comparison of the various subcategories.

operating income

The various turnover categories are classified as follows:

The variation in the different income categories over the past three years is as follows:

The income from concessions rose once more by about 6%, due to a com-bination of higher fees and more sections of the new Deurganck dock be-ing put into operation.

In the case of port dues, the increased level of activity led to a 5% in-crease in turnover, mainly due to higher tonnage dues. In the case of barge dues, the turnover rose because of the increased size of barges, whether in transit or with a destination in the port.

Concessions 41%

Shipping dues 34%

Electricity 4%

Barge dues 3%

Tugging 15%

Dock cranes 2% Floating cranes 1%


BALAnCE SHEET

The Balance Sheet is summarised in the table below.

Assets

The amount of the tangible and intangible fixed assets has risen by 39.1 million euros. The balance is made up as follows:

million euros

Investments + 89.0

Depreciation - 39.9

Decommissioning/revaluation - 10.0

The investments consist mainly of the following components:∙ investments in purchase of land, amounting to 23.9 million euros;∙ buildings (5.5 million euros);∙ tugs (8.3 million euros);∙ docks (10.2 million euros);∙ mobile cranes (14.3 million euros).

The amounts receivable after one year concern a co-payment by the Port Authority to a pre-ground bank.

The accounts receivable have remained fairly stable, with a decrease of 1.3 million euros.

The other accounts receivable remain at a high level, since there are still significant claims for collection of operating subsidies under the terms of the Port Decree, as the agreements concerned were not completed until the end of the year.

Due to the positive overall result, together with the positive cashflow for the financial year, the cash investments have risen from 89.7 million euros to 112.2 million euros.

Purchases of services and miscellaneous goods increased overall by 5.6 million euros, mainly for the following reasons:

∙ Increased costs for energy, including both own use and the costs associ-ated with the activity of grid manager;

∙ Settlement of study costs for the Amoras project;∙ Continually rising costs for waste processing;∙ Advertising expenditure, including job advertisements and commercial

aspects (campaign for Saeftinghe Development Area);∙ Commercial promotion costs, in Belgium and abroad.

The personnel costs amounted to 107.0 million euros. This compares with 97.6 million euros in 2007, which means that wage costs rose by 10% while the number of personnel remained almost the same. The main rea-sons for the increase are:

∙ The impact in 2008 of three index-linking adjustments of 2% each, re-spectively on 1 February, 1 June and 1 October 2008;

∙ CAO (Collective Labour Agreement) effects, with a new job classification and associated wage scales being introduced on 1 July 2008.

The settlement of the pension fund was completed in December 2008 with a limited liquidation bonus. If there are any more costs and/or ben-efits arising from the settlement, these will accrue to the Port Authority.

The provisions rose overall by 13.9 million euros, mainly as a result of further environmental provisions being set up.

The main components of the other operating costs are the withholding tax on income from real estate and the tax on water collection. To this must be added the contribution towards costs for a terminal that was found to have structural defects.

Financial result

The financial result rose by a limited amount, due to the following com-pensating factors:

∙ A slight decrease in amortisation of investment grants;∙ A significant fall in debt costs. However, the positive effect of this was

partly offset as a result of some of the funds invested having to be writ-ten down by 2.7 million euros.

(in euros x 1,000) 31/12/2008 31/12/2007 31/12/2008 31/12/2007

ASSETS LiABiLiTiES

I/III. Intangible/tangible assets 1,012,409 973,341 I. Capital 307,110 307,110

IV. Financial assets 589 617 III. Revaluation surplus 13,686 14,721

V. Receivables > 1 year 3,333 0 IV. Reserves 311,741 211,606

VI. Stocks 2,474 2,289 VI. Investment grants 274,569 286,525

VII. Receivables < 1 year 51,307 52,568 VII. Provisions 126,395 112,494

VIII. Investments 112,158 89,755 VIII. Amounts payable > 1 year 34,600 69,499

IX. Liquid assets 7,342 5,978 IX. Amounts payable < 1 year 93,722 95,407

X. Deferred charges and accrued income 6,880 3,393 X. Accrued charges and deferred income 34,669 30,579

Total 1,196,492 1,127,941 1,196,492 1,127,941


oTHER REquiRED inFoRMATion

Apart from the information mentioned in the annual accounts, there were no significant events after the closing date of the balance sheet. The points concerning R&D and the existence of branch offices are not appli-cable. No procedures were carried out under application of art. 523 of the Companies Act. No use is made of financial instruments of any signifi-cance in judging the assets, liabilities, financial position and result.

As regarding the risks and uncertainties facing the Port Authority, these are mainly in the following areas:

∙ developments in legislation as a result of the Port Decree and its imple-mentation;

∙ developments in legislation in the field of town and country planning and delimitation of the port area;

∙ developments in environmental legislation.The attractiveness of ports in general is determined by factors such as the accessibility of the port, the efficiency of activities within the port itself, and the quality of the hinterland connections.

The auditors Deloitte Bedrijfsrevisoren, Mr. G. Lauwers and Mrs. A. Cool-saet have approved the annual accounts without qualification.

Antwerp, 31 March 2009

For the Board of Directors

Eddy Bruyninckx Marc Van PeelGeneral Manager Chairman of the Board of Directors

Liabilities

Equity has risen, since 99.1 million euros of the total net result of 111.9 million euros was appropriated to equity and 12.8 million euros was appropriated as to profit to be paid out.

The increase in provisions is mainly due to additional amounts being set up to cover disputes and environmental obligations.

In view of the development of the Port Authority’s cash position (see Cashflow Statement below), long-term debts have been repaid where pos-sible and financially advantageous, so that the long-term debts have been further reduced from 69.5 to 34.6 million euros.

The debts repayable within one year remain stable, amounting to 93.7 million euros at the end of 2008 compared with 95.4 million euros at the end of 2007. As in the previous year, the profit of 12.8 million euros to be paid out is included under “Other debts.”

CASHFLoW STATEMEnT

The main incoming and outgoing flows of cash are summarised in the table below. As in the two previous years, the cashflow finally generated is positive.

The cashflow from operational activities has risen only slightly, while working capital has remained more or less the same.

The cashflow devoted to investment activities has risen due to a large programme of investments in sites, docks, tugs and cranes.

The cashflow devoted to financing activities for its part has decreased, but still remains high due to the fact that debts have been repaid wherever possible and financially beneficial.

2008 2007 2006

Short-term investments and liquid assets at start of year 95,733 78,395 17,641

Cashflow generated from operating activities 139,085 134,900 111,996

Cashflow devoted to investment activities (65,930) (52,341) (33,569)

Cashflow devoted to financing activities/pensions (49,388) (65,221) (17,673)

Short-term investments and liquid assets at year end 119,500 95,733 78,395


EQUitY AnD LiABiLitiEs

CODES PEriOD PrEviOuS PEriOD

EQUIT Y 10/15 907,105,610.21 819,962,360.49

Capital (Note 7) 10 307,109,691.74 307,109,691.74 Issued capital 100 307,109,691.74 307,109,691.74 Uncalled capital 101 Share premium account 11 revaluation surpluses 12 13,686,643.45 14,721,191.75 reserves 13 311,740,516.25 211,606,162.30 Legal reserve 130 30,710,969.17 24,015,907.40 Reserves not available 131 19,412,277.03 18,414,048.06 In respect of own shares held 1310 Other 1311 19,412,277.03 18,414,048.06 Untaxed reserves 132 Available reserves 133 261,617,270.05 169,176,206.84 Accumulated profits (losses) (+) (–) 14 investment grants 15 274,568,758.77 286,525,314.70 Advance to associates on the sharing out of the assets 19

PROVIS IOnS AnD DEFERRED TAXES 16 126,394,917.52 112,493,891.90

Provisions for liabilities and charges 160/5 126,394,917.52 112,493,891.90 Pensions and similar obligations 160 Taxation 161 Major repairs and maintenance 162 36,056,421.60 34,128,421.95 Other liabilities and charges (note 8) 163/5 90,338,495.92 78,365,469.95 Deferred taxes 168

AMOUn T S PAYAbL E 17/49 162,991,714.73 195,484,357.15

Amounts payable after more than one year (Note 9) 17 34,600,441.58 69,498,882.13 Financial debts 170/4 34,600,441.58 69,498,882.13 Subordinated loans 170 Unsubordinated debentures 171 Leasing and other similar obligations 172 76,497.81 149,773.43 Credit institutions 173 34,523,943.77 69,349,108.70 Other loans 174 Trade debts 175 Suppliers 1750 Bills of exchange payable 1751 Advances received on contracts in progress 176 Other amounts payable 178/9 Amounts payable within one year 42/48 93,722,430.17 95,406,739.69 Current portion of amounts payable after more than one year falling due within one year (note 9) 42 15,309,284.22 16,164,620.09 Financial debts 43 Credit institutions 430/8 Other loans 439 Trade debts 44 34,828,083.51 39,834,744.07 Suppliers 440/4 34,828,083.51 39,834,744.07 Bills of exchange payable 441 Advances received on contracts in progress 46 272,500.00 1,386,000.00 Taxes, remuneration and social security (note 9) 45 27,796,057.93 22,293,454.29 Taxes 450/3 3,992,660.94 1,609,823.76 Remuneration and social security 454/9 23,803,396.99 20,683,630.53 Other amounts payable 47/48 15,516,504.51 15,727,921.24 Deferred charges and accrued income (Note 9) 492/3 34,668,842.98 30,578,735.33

TOTAL L IAb IL I T IES 10/49 1,196,492,242.46 1,127,940,609.54

BALAncE sHEEt (in EURos)

AssEts


F IXED ASSETS 20/28 1,012,997,668.16 973,957,195.66

Formation expenses (Note 1) 20 intangible fixed assets (Note 2) 21 2,332,412.41 954,688.97 Tangible fixed assets (Note 3) 22/27 1,010,076,204.91 972,385,567.83 Land and buildings 22 874,080,036.91 839,011,977.58 Plant, machinery and equipment 23 69,422,591.76 55,850,541.54 Furniture and vehicles 24 25,541,537.52 27,920,237.58 Leasing and other similar rights 25 518,636.44 545,462.46 Other tangible fixed assets 26 59,905.62 59,905.62 Assets under construction and advance payments 27 40,453,496.66 48,997,443.05 Financial fixed assets (Note 4 & 5.1) 28 589,050.84 616,938.86 Affiliated enterprises (note 4.1 & 14) 280/1 27,888.02 Participating interests 280 27,888.02 Amounts receivable 281 Other enterprises linked by participating interests (note 4.2 & 14) 282/3 581,000.45 581,000.45 Participating interests 282 581,000.45 581,000.45 Amounts receivable 283 Other financial assets 284/8 8,050.39 8,050.39 Shares 284 8,050.39 8,050.39 Amounts receivable and cash guarantees 285/8

CURREn T ASSE T S 29/58 183,494,574.30 153,983,413.88

Amounts receivable after more than one year 29 3,333,333.33 Trade debtors 290 Other amounts receivable 291 3,333,333.33 Stocks and contracts in progress 3 2,473,542.61 2,289,070.23 Stocks 30/36 2,473,542.61 2,289,070.23 Raw materials and consumables 30/31 2,473,542.61 2,289,070.23 Work in progress 32 Finished goods 33 Goods purchased for resale 34 Immovable property intended for sale 35 Advance payments 36 Contracts in progress 37 Amounts receivable within one year 40/41 51,306,884.15 52,568,254.38 Trade debtors 40 22,433,245.95 23,871,869.29 Other amounts receivable 41 28,873,638.20 28,696,385.09 Current investments (Note 6) 50/53 112,158,205.44 89,755,305.53 Own shares 50 Other investments and deposits 51/53 112,158,205.44 89,755,305.53 Cash at bank and in hand 54/58 7,342,206.58 5,977,436.37 Deferred charges and accrued income (Note 6) 490/1 6,880,402.19 3,393,347.37

TOTAL ASSE T S 20/58 1,196,492,242.46 1,127,940,609.54



Extraordinary income 76 12,203,996.30 95,314.46 Write-back of depreciation and amounts written off intangible and tangible fixed assets 760 Write-back of amounts written off financial fixed assets 761 Write-back of provisions for extraordinary liabilities and charges 762 Gain on disposal of fixed assets 763 11,830,293.59 95,314.46 Other extraordinary income 764/9 373,702.71 Extraordinary charges 66 539,630.41 351,019.30 Extraordinary depreciation of and extraordinary amounts written off formation expenses, intangible and tangible fixed assets 660 Amounts written off financial fixed assets 661 146,013.02 Provisions for extraordinary liabilities and charges – Appropriations (uses) (+)(–) 662 Loss on disposal of fixed assets 663 393,617.39 351,019.30 Other extraordinary charges 664/8 Extraordinary charges carried to assets as restructuring costs (–) 669 Profits (Loss) for the period before taxes (+)(–) 9903 112,002,719.87 99,213,386.78 Transfer from postponed taxes 780 Transfer to postponed taxes 680 income taxes (Note 12) (+)(–) 67/77 66,594.89 32,283.93 Income taxes 670/3 66,594.89 32,283.93 Adjustment of income taxes and write-back of tax provisions 77 Profit (Loss) for the period (+)(–) 9904 111,936,124.98 99,181,102.85 Transfer from untaxed reserves 789 Transfer to untaxed reserves 689 Profit (Loss) for the period available for appropriation (+)(–) 9905 111,936,124.98 99,181,102.85

incoME stAtEMEnt (in EURos)


Operating income 70/74 322,967,689.93 302,280,576.15 Turnover 70 269,267,578.29 252,608,572.05 Increase (decrease) in stocks of finished goods, work and contracts in progress (+)(–) 71 Own construction capitalised 72 1,987,208.95 1,673,809.40 Other operating income (note 10) 74 51,712,902.69 47,998,194.70 Operating charges 60/64 235,203,290.37 214,520,849.99 Raw materials, consumables 60 5,374,871.36 4,105,174.61 Purchases 600/8 5,514,612.85 4,084,614.22 Decrease (increase) in stocks (+)(–) 609 -139,741.49 20,560.39 Services and other goods 61 51,235,758.50 45,616,985.89 Remuneration, social security costs and pensions (+)(–) (note 10) 62 107,010,576.13 97,651,787.81 Depreciation and amounts written off formation expenses, intangible and tangible fixed assets 630 39,902,723.32 38,806,081.51 Amounts written off stocks, contracts in progress and trade debtors – Appropriations (write-backs) (+)(–) 631/4 -1,190,698.31 -1,407,253.76 Provisions for risks and charges – Appropriations (uses and write-backs) (note 10) (+)(–) 635/7 13,901,025.62 13,710,811.68 Other operating charges (note 10) 640/8 18,969,033.75 16,037,262.25 Operation charges carried to assets as restructuring costs (–) 649 Operating profit (loss) (+)(–) 9901 87,764,399.56 87,759,726.16 Financial income 75 19,544,177.83 19,788,422.21 Income from financial fixed assets 750 610,054.86 472,708.82 Income from current assets 751 485,341.09 311,109.86 Other financial income (note 11) 752/9 18,448,781.88 19,004,603.53 Financial charges 65 6,970,223.41 8,079,056.75 Debt charges 650 4,207,861.52 8,021,070.12 Amounts written down on current assets except stocks, contracts in progress and trade debtors (+)(–) 651 2,710,820.33 Other financial charges 652/9 51,541.56 57,986.63 Gain (Loss) on ordinary activities before taxes (+)(–) 9902 100,338,353.98 99,469,091.62


notEs

2. stAtEMEnt oF intAnGiBLE AssEts

2.2 concEssions, PAtEnts, LicEncEs, KnoW-HoW,

BRAnD AnD siMiLAR RiGHts


Acquisition value at the end of the period 8052P xxxxxxxxxxxx 1,678,422.84 Movements during the period Acquisitions, including produced fixed assets 8022 1,542,211.19 Sales and disposals 8032 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8042 Acquisition value at the end of the period 8052 3,220,634.03 Depreciation and amounts written down at the end of the period 8122P xxxxxxxxxxxx 723,733.87 Movements during the period Recorded 8072 164,487.75 Written back 8082 Acquisitions from third parties 8092 Cancelled owing to sales and disposals 8102 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8112 Depreciation and amounts written down at the end of the period 8122 888,221.62

nE T bOOk VALUE AT T hE EnD OF T hE PER IOD 211 2,332,412.41

APPRoPRiAtion AccoUnt


Profit (Loss) to be appropriated (+)(–) 9906 111,936,124.98 99,181,102.85 Gain (loss) to be appropriated (+)(–) (9905) 111,936,124.98 99,181,102.85 Profit (loss) to be carried forward (+)(–) 14P Transfers from capital and reserves 791/2 From capital and share premium account 791 From reserves 792 Transfers to capital and reserves 691/2 99,136,124.98 86,381,102.85 To capital and share premium account 691 To the legal reserve 6920 6,695,061.77 9,918,110.28 To other reserves 6921 92,441,063.21 76,462,992.57 Profit (Loss) to be carried forward (+)(–) (14) Owner’s contribution in respect of losses 794 Profit to be distributed 694/6 12,800,000.00 12,800,000.00 Dividends 694 Director’s or manager’s entitlements 695 Other beneficiaries 696 12,800,000.00 12,800,000.00


3.2 PLAnt, MAcHinERY AnD EQUiPMEnt


Acquisition value at the end of the period 8192P xxxxxxxxxxxx 197,640,922.58 Movements during the period Acquisitions, including produced fixed assets 8162 25,374,590.00 Sales and disposals 8172 14,278,529.56 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8182 2,640,129.83 Acquisition value at the end of the period 8192 211,377,112.85 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8252P xxxxxxxxxxxx 5,569,684.42 Movements during the period Recorded 8212 Acquisitions from third parties 8222 Cancelled 8232 354,012.79 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8242 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8252 5,215,671.63 Depreciation and amounts written down at the end of the period 8322P xxxxxxxxxxxx 147,360,065.46 Movements during the period Recorded 8272 7,382,394.37 Written back 8282 Acquisitions from third parties 8292 Cancelled owing to sales and disposals 8302 7,572,267.11 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8312 Depreciation and amounts written down at the end of the period 8322 147,170,192.72

nE T bOOk VALUE AT T hE EnD OF T hE PER IOD (23) 69,422,591.76

3. stAtEMEnt oF tAnGiBLE FiXED AssEts

3.1 LAnD AnD BUiLDinGs


Acquisition value at the end of the period 8191P xxxxxxxxxxxx 1,167,495,955.26 Movements during the period Acquisitions, including produced fixed assets 8161 22,532,950.45 Sales and disposals 8171 3,300,181.07 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8181 44,136,848.09 Acquisition value at the end of the period 8191 1,230,865,572.73 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8251P xxxxxxxxxxxx 23,937,297.55 Movements during the period Recorded 8211 Acquisitions from third parties 8221 Cancelled 8231 16,288.31 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8241 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8251 23,921,009.24 Depreciation and amounts written down at the end of the period 8321P xxxxxxxxxxxx 352,421,275.23 Movements during the period Recorded 8271 28,565,778.04 Written back 8281 Acquisitions from third parties 8291 Cancelled owing to sales and disposals 8301 280,508.21 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8311 Depreciation and amounts written down at the end of the period 8321 380,706,545.06



3.4 LEAsinG AnD otHER siMiLAR RiGHts


Acquisition value at the end of the period 8194P xxxxxxxxxxxx 813,382.95 Movements during the period Acquisitions, including produced fixed assets 8164 Sales and disposals 8174 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8184 Acquisition value at the end of the period 8194 813,382.95 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8254P xxxxxxxxxxxx 80,817.81 Movements during the period Recorded 8214 Acquisitions from third parties 8224 Cancelled 8234 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8244 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8254 80,817.81 Depreciation and amounts written down at the end of the period 8324P xxxxxxxxxxxx 348,738.30 Movements during the period Recorded 8274 26,826.02 Written back 8284 Acquisitions from third parties 8294 Cancelled owing to sales and disposals 8304 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8314 Depreciation and amounts written down at the end of the period 8324 375,564.32

nE T bOOk VALUE AT T hE EnD OF T hE PER IOD (25) 518,636.44

WhEREOF Land and buildings 250 518,636.44 Plant, machinery and equipment 251 Furniture and vehicles 252

3.3 FURnitURE AnD VEHicLEs


Acquisition value at the end of the period 8193P xxxxxxxxxxxx 71,866,229.56 Movements during the period Acquisitions, including produced fixed assets 8163 1,388,310.57 Sales and disposals 8173 573,777.71 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8183 Acquisition value at the end of the period 8193 72,680,762.42 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8253P xxxxxxxxxxxx 3,174,273.95 Movements during the period Recorded 8213 Acquisitions from third parties 8223 Cancelled 8233 18,913.14 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8243 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8253 3,155,360.81 Depreciation and amounts written down at the end of the period 8323P xxxxxxxxxxxx 47,120,265.93 Movements during the period Recorded 8273 3,763,237.14 Written back 8283 Acquisitions from third parties 8293 Cancelled owing to sales and disposals 8303 588,917.36 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8313 Depreciation and amounts written down at the end of the period 8323 50,294,585.71



3.6 AssEts UnDER constRUction AnD ADVAncED PAYMEnts


Acquisition value at the end of the period 8196P xxxxxxxxxxxx 48,997,443.05 Movements during the period Acquisitions, including produced fixed assets 8166 42,320,456.72 Sales and disposals 8176 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8186 -50,864,403.11 Acquisition value at the end of the period 8196 40,453,496.66 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8256P xxxxxxxxxxxx Movements during the period Recorded 8216 Acquisitions from third parties 8226 Cancelled 8236 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8246 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8256 Depreciation and amounts written down at the end of the period 8326P xxxxxxxxxxxx Movements during the period Recorded 8276 Written back 8286 Acquisitions from third parties 8296 Cancelled owing to sales and disposals 8306 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8316 Depreciation and amounts written down at the end of the period 8326


3.5 otHER tAnGiBLE FiXED AssEts


Acquisition value at the end of the period 8195P xxxxxxxxxxxx 59,905.62 Movements during the period Acquisitions, including produced fixed assets 8165 Sales and disposals 8175 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8185 Acquisition value at the end of the period 8195 59,905.62 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8255P xxxxxxxxxxxx Movements during the period Recorded 8215 Acquisitions from third parties 8225 Cancelled 8235 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8245 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8255 Depreciation and amounts written down at the end of the period 8325P xxxxxxxxxxxx Movements during the period Recorded 8275 Written back 8285 Acquisitions from third parties 8295 Cancelled owing to sales and disposals 8305 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8315 Depreciation and amounts written down at the end of the period 8325



4.2 otHER EntERPRisEs LinKED BY PARticiPAtinG intEREsts –

PARticiPAtinG intEREsts AnD sHAREs


Acquisition value at the end of the period 8392P xxxxxxxxxxxx 2,338,812.45 Movements during the period Acquisitions, including produced fixed assets 8362 Sales and disposals 8372 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8382 Acquisition value at the end of the period 8392 2,338,812.45 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8452P xxxxxxxxxxxx Movements during the period Recorded 8412 Acquisitions from third parties 8422 Cancelled 8432 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8442 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8452 Amounts written down at the end of the period 8522P xxxxxxxxxxxx Movements during the period Recorded 8472 Written back 8482 Acquisitions from third parties 8492 Cancelled owing to sales and disposals 8502 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8512 Amounts written down at the end of the period 8522 uncalled amounts at the end of the period 8552P xxxxxxxxxxxx 1,757,812.00 Movements during the period (+)(–) 8542 uncalled amounts at the end of the period 8552 1,757,812.00


O T hER En T ERPRISES L Ink ED bY PAR T IC IPAT InG

In T EREST S – AMOUn T S RECE IVAbL E

nE T bOOk VALUE AT T hE EnD OF T hE PER IOD 283P xxxxxxxxxxxx

Movements during the period Additions 8582 Repayments 8592 Amounts written down 8602 Amounts written back 8612 Exchange differences (+)(–) 8622 Other (+)(–) 8632

nE T bOOk VALUE AT T hE EnD OF T hE PER IOD (283)

ACCUMUL AT ED AMOUn T S WRI T T En OF F On AMOUn T S

RECE IVAbL E AT T hE EnD OF T hE PER IOD 8652

4. stAtEMEnt oF FinAnciAL F iXED AssEts

4.1 AFFiLiAtED EntERPRisEs – PARticiPAtinG intEREsts AnD sHAREs


Acquisition value at the end of the period 8391P xxxxxxxxxxxx 55,776.04 Movements during the period Acquisitions, including produced fixed assets 8361 472,500.00 Sales and disposals 8371 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8381 Acquisition value at the end of the period 8391 528,276.04 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8451P xxxxxxxxxxxx Movements during the period Recorded 8411 Acquisitions from third parties 8421 Cancelled 8431 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8441 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8451 Amounts written down at the end of the period 8521P xxxxxxxxxxxx 27,888.02 Movements during the period Recorded 8471 146,013.02 Written back 8481 Acquisitions from third parties 8491 Cancelled owing to sales and disposals 8501 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8511 Amounts written down at the end of the period 8521 173,901.04 uncalled amounts at the end of the period 8551P xxxxxxxxxxxx Movements during the period (+)(–) 8541 354,375.00 uncalled amounts at the end of the period 8551 354,375.00


AF F I L IAT ED En T ERPRISES – AMOUn T S RECE IVAbL E

nE T bOOk VALUE AT T hE EnD OF T hE PER IOD 281P xxxxxxxxxxxx

Movements during the period Additions 8581 Repayments 8591 Amounts written down 8601 Amounts written back 8611 Exchange differences (+)(–) 8621 Other (+)(–) 8631





5. inFoRMAtion RELAtinG to tHE sHARE in tHE cAPitAL

5.1 sHARE in tHE cAPitAL AnD otHER RiGHts in otHER coMPAniEs

List of both enterprises in which the enterprise holds a participating interest (recorded in the heading 28 of assets), and other enterprises in which the enterprise holds rights (recorded in the headings 28 and 50/53 of assets) in the amount of at least 10% of the capital issued.

ShArES hELD By iNFOrMATiON FrOM ThE MOST rECENT PEriOD FOr whiCh ANNuAL ACCOuNTS ArE AvAiLABLE

NAME, full address of the rEGiSTErED DIRECTLY SUbSIDIARIES PRIMARY MOnE- CAPITAL AnD nET

OFFiCE and, for the enterprise governed nUMbER % % F InAnCIAL TARY RESERVES RESULT

by Belgian law, COMPANy NuMBEr STATEMEnT UnIT (+) OR (–) ( In MOnETARY UnITS)

Maatschappij voor het haven-, Grond- 31/12/2007 EUR 125,514,768 5,770,401en industrialisatiebeleid van het Linkerscheldeoevergebied CALL Sluisgebouw 9120 beveren-Waas belgium 0223.944.690 1,875 37.50 0.00 Antwerp Port Consultancy PLC 31/12/2007 EUR -82,754 -110,060Entrepotkaai 1 2000 Antwerpen belgium 0466.583.658 9 90.00 0.00

4.3 otHER EntERPRisEs – PARticiPAtinG intEREsts AnD sHAREs


Acquisition value at the end of the period 8393P xxxxxxxxxxxx 13,609.55 Movements during the period Acquisitions, including produced fixed assets 8363 Sales and disposals 8373 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8383 Acquisition value at the end of the period 8393 13,609.55 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8453P xxxxxxxxxxxx Movements during the period Recorded 8413 Acquisitions from third parties 8423 Cancelled 8433 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8443 revaluation surpluses at the end of the period 8453 Amounts written down at the end of the period 8523P xxxxxxxxxxxx Movements during the period Recorded 8473 Written back 8483 Acquisitions from third parties 8493 Cancelled owing to sales and disposals 8503 Transfers from one heading to another (+)(–) 8513 Amounts written down at the end of the period 8523 uncalled amounts at the end of the period 8553P xxxxxxxxxxxx 5,559.16 Movements during the period (+)(–) 8543 uncalled amounts at the end of the period 8553 5,559.16


O T hER En T ERPRISES – ACCOUn T S RECE IVAbL E

nE T bOOk VALUE AT T hE EnD OF T hE PER IOD 285/8P xxxxxxxxxxxx

Movements during the period Additions 8583 Repayments (–) 8593 Amounts written down 8603 Amounts written back 8613 Exchange differences (+)(–) 8623 Other (+)(–) 8633

nE T bOOk VALUE AT T hE EnD OF T hE PER IOD (285/8)




7. stAtEMEnt oF cAPitAL AnD stRUctURE oF sHAREHoLDinGs

stAtEMEnt oF cAPitAL


Social capital Issued capital at the end of the period 100P xxxxxxxxxxxx 307,109,691.74 Issued capital at the end of the period (100) 307,109,691.74

CODES AMOuNTS NuMBEr OF ShArES

Changes during the period Structure of the capital Different categories of shares no shares issued considering legal structure Registered 8702 xxxxxxxxxxxx bearer 8703 xxxxxxxxxxxx

uNCALLED CAPiTAL CALLED,

CODES CAPiTAL BuT NOT PAiD

uncalled capital Uncalled capital (101) x xxxxxxxxxxx Capital called, but not paid 8712 xxxxxxxxxxxx Shareholders having yet to pay up in full

8. PRoVisions FoR otHER LiABiLitiEs AnD cHARGEs

ALLocAtion oF tHE HEADinG 163/5 oF LiABiLitiEs

iF tHE AMoUnt is consiDERABLE

PEriOD

Pending litigations and risks 9,250,719.46 Environment 73,603,713.45 Social plans for personnel 2,703,348.47 Other 4,780,714.54

TOTAL PROV IS IOnS FOR OT hER

L IAb IL I T IES AnD ChARGES 90,338,495.92

6. otHER inVEstMEnts AnD DEPosit, DEFERRED cHARGEs

AnD AccRUED incoME (AssEts)

inVEstMEnts: otHER inVEstMEnts AnD DEPosits


Shares 51 73,608,205.44 67,620,305.53 book value increased with the uncalled amount 8681 73,608,205.44 67,620,305.53 Uncalled amount 8682 Fixed income securities 52 Fixed income securities issued by credit institutions 8684 Fixed term deposits with credit institutions 53 38,550,000.00 22,135,000.00 Falling due less or up to one month 8686 between one month and one year 8687 38,550,000.00 22,135,000.00 over one year 8688 Other investments not yet shown seperately 8689

DEFERRED cHARGEs AnD AccRUED incoME

PEriOD

Allocation of the heading 490/1 of assets if the amount is significant Wages January 2009 2,586,459.02 Other revenue to be received 1,336,576.20 Other 2,814,761.34

TOTAL DEF ERRED ChARGES AnD ACCRUED InCOME 6,737,796.56


AMoUnts PAYABLE FoR tAXEs, REMUnERAtion

AnD sociAL sEcURitY

CODES PEriOD

Taxes (heading 450/3 of liabilities) Expired taxes payable 9072 non expired taxes payable 9073 3,992,660.94 Estimated taxes payable 450 remuneration and social security (heading 454/9 of liabilities) Amounts due to the national Office of Social Security 9076 Other amounts payable relating to remuneration and social security 9077 23,803,396.99

AccRUED cHARGEs

PEriOD

Allocation of the heading 492/3 of liabilities if the amount is considerable Deferred income long-term contract 3,055,287.73 Invoicing concessions 1st quarter 2009 26,907,097.14 Other 1,472,458.11 Deferred income sale cranes 3,234,000.00

TOTAL ACCRUED ChARGES 34,668,842.98

9. stAtEMEnt oF AMoUnts PAYABLE, AccRUED cHARGEs

AnD DEFERRED incoME

AnALYsis BY cURREnt PoRtions oF AMoUnts initiALLY PAYABLE

AFtER MoRE tHAn onE YEAR

CODES PEriOD

Amounts payable after more than one year, not more than one year Financial debts 8801 15,309,284.22 Subordinated loans 8811 Unsubordinated debentures 8821 Leasing and other similar obligations 8831 73,275.62 Credit institutions 8841 15,236,008.60 Other loans 8851 Trade debts 8861 Suppliers 8871 Bills of exchange payable 8881 Advance payments received on contracts in progress 8891 Other amounts payable 8901

TOTAL AMOUn T S PAYAbL E AF T ER MORE T hAn OnE Y E AR,

nOT MORE T hAn OnE Y E AR (42) 15,309,284.22 Amounts payable after more than one year, between one and five years Financial debts 8802 18,389,251.11 Subordinated loans 8812 Unsubordinated debentures 8822 Leasing and other similar obligations 8832 76,497.81 Credit institutions 8842 18,312,753.30 Other loans 8852 Trade debts 8862 Suppliers 8872 Bills of exchange payable 8882 Advance payments received on contracts in progress 8892 Other amounts payable 8902


bE T WEEn OnE AnD F I VE Y E ARS 8912 18,389,251.11 Amounts payable after more than one year, over five years Financial debts 8803 16,211,190.47 Subordinated loans 8813 Unsubordinated debentures 8823 Leasing and other similar obligations 8833 Credit institutions 8843 16,211,190.47 Other loans 8853 Trade debts 8863 Suppliers 8873 Bills of exchange payable 8883 Advance payments received on contracts in progress 8893 Other amounts payable 8903


OVER F I VE Y E ARS 8913 16,211,190.47


11. F inAnciAL AnD EXtRAoRDinARY REsULts

F inAnciAL REsULts


Other financial income Amount of subsidies granted by public authorities, credited to income for the period Capital subsidies 9125 13,569,189.74 14,288,392.38 Interest subsidies 9126 Allocation of other financial income Surplus to current assets 4,856,570.34 2,397,952.74 Interest swap 12,573.85 2,313,669.41 Amounts written down on loan issue expenses and repayment premiums 6501 interests recorded as assets 6503 value adjustments to current assets Appropriations 6510 2,710,820.33 Write-backs 6511 Other financial charges Amount of the discount borne by the enterprise, as a result of negotiating amounts receivable 653 Provisions of a financial nature Appropriations 6560 Uses and write-backs 6561

EXtRAoRDinARY REsULts

PEriOD

Allocation of other extraordinary income Liquidation balance pension fund 373,702.21 Allocation of other extraordinary charges

10. oPERAtinG REsULts

oPERAtinG incoME


Net turnover broken down by categories of activity Allocation into geographical markets Other operating income Total amount of subsidies and compensatory amounts obtained from public authorities 740 30,351,837.88 26,178,116.00

oPERAtinG costs


Employees recorded in the personnel register Total number at the closing date 9086 1,661 1,637 Average number of employees calculated in full-time equivalents 9087 1,631.0 1,640.0 number of actual worked hours 9088 2,283,554 2,274,786 Personnel costs Remuneration and direct social benefits 620 75,606,196.79 68,337,140.17 Employers’ social security contributions 621 25,252,705.89 23,462,546.74 Employers’ premiums for extra statutory insurances 622 1,111,656.53 906,014.37 Other personnel costs 623 5,040,016.92 4,946,086.53 Old-age and widows’ pensions 624 Provisions for pensions Additions (uses and write-back) (+)(–) 635 Amounts written off Stocks and contracts in progress Recorded 9110 Written back 9111 44,730.89 9,537.63 Trade debtors Recorded 9112 Written back 9113 1,145,967.42 1,397,716.13 Provisions for risks and charges Additions 9115 20,016,776.81 23,179,280.34 Uses and write-back 9116 6,115,751.19 9,468,468.66 Other operating charges Taxes related to operations 640 10,599,297.02 10,575,776.54 Other charges 641/8 8,369,736.73 5,461,485.71 hired temporary staff and persons placed at the enterprise’s disposal Total number at the closing date 9096 2 Average number calculated as full-time equivalents 9097 5.9 1.5 number of actual worked hours 9098 8,196 2,922 Charges to the enterprise 617 278,120.07 90,171.93


12. incoME tAXEs AnD otHER tAXEs

incoME tAXEs

CODES PEriOD

income taxes on the result of the current period 9134 66,594.89 Income taxes paid and withholding taxes due or paid 9135 66,594.89 Excess of income tax prepayments and withholding taxes recorded under assets 9136 Estimated additional taxes 9137 income taxes on previous periods 9138 Taxes and withholding taxes due or paid 9139 Estimated additional taxes estimated or provided for 9140 in so far as income taxes of the current period are materially affected by differences between the profit before taxes, as stated in the annual accounts, and the estimated taxable profit The Antwerp Port Authority is not subject to corporate taxation but to legal entity taxation

totAL AMoUnt oF VALUE ADDED tAX

AnD tAXEs BoRnE BY tHiRD PARtiEs


Total amount of value added tax charged To the enterprise (deductible) 9145 27,024,938.09 25,701,764.00 by the enterprise 9146 42,215,747.63 32,170,902.86 Amounts retained on behalf of third parties for Payroll withholding taxes 9147 22,921,116.23 20,222,588.13 Withholding taxes on investment income 9148

13. RiGHts AnD coMMitMEnts not REFLEctED in tHE BALAncE sHEEt

GooDs AnD VALUEs, not DiscLosED in tHE BALAncE sHEEt,

HELD BY tHiRD PARtiEs in tHEiR oWn nAME BUt At RisK

to AnD FoR tHE BEnEFit oF tHE EntERPRisE

CODES PEriOD

Substancial commitments to acquire fixed assets Committed purchases fixed assets 42,552,643.00

inFoRMAtion concERninG iMPoRtAnt LitiGAtion AnD otHER

coMMitMEnts not MEntionED ABoVE

During the 2000 financial year, third parties instituted proceedings to suspend the con-struction permit issued by the Flemish Region on 23 June 2000 for the Deurganck Dock. The Council of State effectively suspended the construction permit on 7 March 2001 so that the works were shut down. Third parties filed legal challenges against the permits granted by the authorities on which basis the works had restarted. The competent courts have until now dismissed these challenges but not all the proceedings that were instituted have been completed yet. The concession-holders in the Deurganck Dock have also placed the Port Authority of Antwerp in default and re-served the right to claim damages. The Port Authority intends to reject these claims for damages.

The firm Seaport Terminals nV instituted a claim in 2003 against the Port Authority for damages to the sum of 86,762,734 euros. This concerns damages for alleged complic-ity in breach of contract by the Cast shipping company in connection with the Flanders Container Terminal. The board of Directors considers on the basis of a legal analysis of the available data that insufficient argu-ments have been formulated against the Port Authority of Antwerp in connection with this claim that would justify including a provision for this in the accounts.

The firm Aspiravi nV, which did not win the tender, has already started various proceed-ings against the Port Authority in connection with the award of the wind farm contract in

the Port of Antwerp by the Port Authority. The judgments of various courts of law have up until now been favourable to the Port Author-ity. On 20 February 2004, Aspiravi nV sum-moned the Port Authority to appear before the Court of First Instance in connection with the tender award claiming damages of 117,309,425 euros. no provision has been made in the accounts given that previous pro-ceedings, where the same arguments were adduced, led to the courts finding in favour of the Port Authority.

iF tHERE is A sUPPLEMEntARY REtiREMEnts oR sURViVoR’s PEnsion PLAn

in FAVoUR oF tHE PERsonnEL oR tHE EXEcUtiVEs oF tHE EntERPRisE,

A BRiEF DEscRiPtion oF sUcH PLAn AnD oF tHE MEAsUREs tAKEn BY tHE

EntERPRisE to coVER tHE REsULtinG cHARGEs

The Port Authority has taken out a non-statutory pension insurance policy in favour of contractual members of personnel, of the fixed contribution type. These contributions are paid monthly, and are taken into account under the heading “Employer’s premiums for non-statutory insurance policies.”


14. RELAtionsHiPs WitH AFFiLiAtED EntERPRisEs AnD

EntERPRisEs LinKED BY PARticiPAtinG intEREsts

AFFiLiAtED EntERPRisEs


Financial fixed assets (280/1) 27,888.02 Investments (280) 27,888.02 Amounts receivable subordinated 9271 Other amounts receivable 9281 Amounts receivable 9291 71,652.67 121,723.69 After one year 9301 Within one year 9311 71,652.67 121,723.69 Current investments 9321 Shares 9331 Amounts receivable 9341 Amounts payable 9351 After one year 9361 Within one year 9371 Personal and real guarantees Provided or irrevocably promised by the enterprise, as security for debts or commitments of affiliated enterprises 9381 Provided or irrevocably promised by affiliated enterprises as security for debts or commitments of the enterprise 9391 Other substancial financial commitments 9401

EntERPRisEs LinKED BY PARticiPAtinG intEREsts


Financial fixed assets (282/3) 581,000.45 581,000.45 Investments (282) 581,000.45 581,000.45 Amounts receivable subordinated 9272 Other amounts receivable 9282 Amounts receivable 9292 After one year 9302 Within one year 9312 Amounts payable 9352 131,132.91 After one year 9362 Within one year 9372 131,132.91

15. F inAnciAL RELAtionsHiPs WitH

AUDitoRs oR PEoPLE tHEY ARE LinKED to

CODES PEriOD

Auditors’ fees 9505 23,760.00 Fees for exceptional services or special missions executed in the company by the auditor Other attestation missions 95061 11,800.00 Tax consultancy 95062 Other missions external to the audit 95063 Fees for exceptional services or special missions executed in the company by people they are linked to Other attestation missions 95081 Tax consulting 95082 11,392.50 Other missions external to the audit 95083 150.00


HiRED tEMPoRARY stAFF AnD PERsonnEL PLAcED At tHE EntERPRisE’s DisPosAL

TEMPOr Ary PErSONNEL PL ACED

During the period PErSONNEL AT ThE DiSPOSAL

CODES OF ThE ENTErPriSE

Average number of employees 150 5.9 number of hours actually worked 151 8,196 Charges of the enterprise 152 278,120.07

tABLE oF PERsonnEL cHAnGEs DURinG tHE PERioD

EntRiEs

FuLL -T iME PArT -T iME TOTAL iN FuLL -T iME

CODES EquivALENTS

Number of employees recorded on the personnel register during the financial year 205 110 1 110.5 By nature of the employment contract Contract for an indefinite period 210 102 102.0 Contract for a definite period 211 5 1 5.5 Contract for the execution of a specifically assigned work 212 Replacement contract 213 3 3.0

DEPARtUREs

FuLL -T iME PArT -T iME TOTAL iN FuLL -T iME

CODES EquivALENTS

The number of employees with a in the staff register listed date of termination of the contract during the period 305 87 87.0 By nature of the employment contract Contract for an indefinite period 310 83 83.0 Contract for a definite period 311 1 1.0 Contract for the execution of a specifically assigned work 312 Replacement contract 313 3 3.0 According to the reason for termination of the employment contract Retirement 340 50 50.0 Early retirement 341 Dismissal 342 5 5.0 Other reason 343 32 32.0 Of which: the number of persons who continue to render services to the enterprise at least half-time on a self-employed basis 350

sociAL REPoRt

Numbers of joint industrial committees which are competent for the enterprise: 100

stAtEMEnt oF tHE PERsons EMPLoYED

EMPLoYEEs REcoRDED in tHE stAFF REGistER

FuLL -T iME PArT -T iME TOTAL (T) Or TOTAL (T) Or

During the period and TOTAL iN FuLL -T iME TOTAL iN FuLL -T iME

the previous period EquivALENTS (FTE) EquivALENTS (FTE)

CODES (PEriOD) (PEriOD) (PEriOD) (PrEviOuS PEriOD)

Average number of employees 100 1,625.2 8.1 1,631.0 (FTE) 1,640.0 (FTE) number of hours actually worked 101 2,273,949 9,605 2,283,554 (T ) 2,274,786 (T ) Personnel costs 102 106,560,472.22 450,103.91 107,010,576.13 (T ) 97,651,787.81 (T ) Advantages in addition to wages 103 xxxxxxxxxx x xxxxxxxxxx ( T ) ( T )

FuLL -T iME PArT -T iME TOTAL

At the closing date of the period iN FuLL -T iME

CODES EquivALENTS

Number of employees recorded in the personnel register 105 1,653 8 1,658.8 By nature of the employment contract Contract for an indefinite period 110 1,643 8 1,648.8 Contract for a definite period 111 9 9.0 Contract for the execution of a specifically assigned work 112 Replacement contract 113 1 1.0 According to the gender and by level of education Male 120 1,404 3 1,405.8 primary education 1200 secondary education 1201 1,404 3 1,405.8 higher education (non-university) 1202 university education 1203 Female 121 249 5 253.0 primary education 1210 secondary education 1211 249 5 253.0 higher education (non-university) 1212 university education 1213 By professional category Management staff 130 5 5.0 Employees 134 871 6 875.5 Workers 132 777 2 778.3 Other 133


AccoUntinG PRinciPLEs

Under the terms of art. 34 of its Articles of Association, Antwerp Port Authority is subject to the Act of 17 July 1975 concerning the account-ing and annual accounts of companies, which specifies that the accounts must be kept in accordance with the Royal Decree of 30 January 2001 concerning the annual accounts of companies. Drawing up the annual accounts falls under the responsibility of the Board of Directors. Describing the accounting principles as accurately as possible forms an integral part of this.

GEnERAL ACCounTinG PRinCiPLES

The annual accounts of Antwerp Port Authority are drawn up in accord-ance with the legislation governing annual accounts. As laid down by art. 24 of the Royal Decree of 30 January 2001 the accounting principles are drawn up in compliance with the requirement to give a true picture of the situation, taking into account the specific characteristics of the company. In those matters where it is necessary to supplement the law and in cases where a choice is left to the company, the Board of Directors has laid down the following accounting principles.

SPECiFiC ACCounTinG PRinCiPLES

tangible fixed assets

General principleBy tangible fixed assets is meant long-lasting, tangible operating resources with a lifetime of more than one financial year and with an initial purchase value greater than or equal to 1250.00 euros posted to the assets. The valuation is made at the acquisition cost or production cost, as laid down in arts. 36 and 37 of the Royal Decree; any additional costs can be posted in full to the Income Statement in the course of the year.

RevaluationsThe non-subsidised part of the tangible fixed assets that can be depreciated was revalued up to and including 31/12/2002, in accordance with the circular letter sent to regional and local authorities. The revaluation surplus is posted to the “Revaluation surpluses” account of the liabilities, individualised (in accordance with the circular of 19 of July 1986) and transferred to a non-available reserve pro rata the depreciation rate of the underlying asset.

DepreciationDepreciation is calculated by the straight line method and applied for a full year, on the basis of the revalued acquisition value of the invest-ments, according to the following depreciation percentages:

inFoRMAtion WitH REGARD to tRAininG REcEiVED BY EMPLoYEEs DURinG tHE PERioD

CODES MALE CODES FEMALE

Total number of official advanced professional training projects received by employees at company expense number of participating employees 5801 442 5811 149 number of training hours 5802 132,389 5812 51,637 Costs for the company 5803 73,527.00 5813 23,256.00 of which gross costs directly linked to the training 58031 73,527.00 58131 23,256.00 of which paid contributions and deposits in collective funds 58032 58132 of which received subsidies (to be deducted) 58033 58133 Total number of less official and unofficial advance professional training projects received by employees at company expense number of participating employees 5821 84 5831 18 number of training hours 5822 1,499 5832 1,742 Costs for the company 5823 25,333.00 5833 4,440.00 Total number of initial professional training projects at company expense number of participating employees 5841 5851 number of training hours 5842 5852 Costs for the company 5843 5853


LeasingThe charges for use of tangible fixed assets held by the company under leasing or similar agreements are posted to this heading after deduction of the cumulated depreciations or reductions in value, as regards the part of the periods payable under the agreement for reconstitution of the capital value. The rate of depreciation is according to the percentages mentioned under “Depreciation.”

Other depreciations and reductions in valueIn the case of tangible fixed assets with a limited lifetime, an additional depreciation is applied if their book value is higher than their useful value as a result of technical obsolescence or changes in the economic or technical circumstances. In case of a lasting reduction in the value of tangible fixed assets, an extraordinary reduction in value is posted. Such depreciations and extraordinary write-downs are submitted to the Board of Directors by the Management Committee.

Contributions by third partiesContributions by third parties towards investments posted to assets (other than investment grants) are booked under debts, at face value. The portion of the fixed assets for which these contributions have been received is not revalued and is fully depreciated when the asset is taken into use. At that moment the contribution itself is shown as another item of operating income.

Land and sitesLand and sites contributed on 1 January 1997 were revalued in their en-tirety on the basis of an estimate made in 1986; these have been further supplemented by purchases made between 1988 and the end of 1996. The individual values of the land and sites are obtained by calculating the fraction represented by the area of the land or site and applying it to this total value. Land and sites purchased or acquired after 1 January 1997 are booked at their acquisition value.

UsufructThe usufruct of among others the Europa Terminal is valued on the basis of the contribution made by the municipally-owned company (the pred-ecessor of the Port Authority) to the financing of the assets on which the usufruct is granted. The usufruct is depreciated on the basis of the eco-nomic lifetime of the underlying asset. The rate of depreciation is accord-ing to the percentages mentioned under “Depreciation.”

Assets under constructionLarge projects and those extending over a longer period are first posted to the assets under “Tangible fixed assets under construction.” The amount posted to the assets is the acquisition price (as invoiced by third-party suppliers). At the moment there are no rules for internal costs and interim interest to be posted to the assets: these are currently posted directly to the result. Assets under construction are transferred to their respective headings under tangible fixed assets on the date of provisional handover of the work; the notification of provisional handover is passed to the Accounting Department by the Technical Department. No depreci-ation is applied to assets under construction (except in exceptional cases, if there is a lasting reduction in value); these assets are not revalued, neither are the investment grants relating to them included in the result.

Software 33.33%

Land and premisesLand 0%Service buildings and warehouses 3%Warehouses 5%Waterways 3%Rights of use on major capital works 3%hydraulic engineering works 3%Shelters, sheds, hangars etc. 5%Roads 5%

installations, machinery and equipmenthoisting apparatus 5%Mobile cranes 6.67%Vessels 5%

a.o. Dredging rigs, Sounding vessels, Mooring pontoons, Inspection vessels Electrical installations 5%

a.o. Public lighting, Cable network, Crane cable net, Traffic signalling

Underwater cells 16.67%Machines and general equipment 10%

a.o. Tools and appliances Lifebuoy installations Tackle and chains Compressor units Excavator combines

heating and cooling installations 10%Lifts 10%Alarm installations 10%Telecommunications 20%

a.o. Telephone installations, Radio communication Cameras and tannoys at locks

Port radar 20%Technical hardware 20%

a.o. Apics including cable network Geographic information system (GIS) Data processing unit for hydrographic measuring

Furnishings and rolling stockFurnishings 10%Office machinery 20%hardware administration 20%Rolling stock

a.o. Tug boats 5%Drainage pumps 20%Private cars 20%Trucks 20%Forklifts 20%Salting vehicles 20%


Arrears > 6 months 20%Arrears > 12 months 80%Arrears > 18 months 100%

If it appears that the claim is uncollectable or dubious and the corre-sponding write-down would be greater than the amounts mentioned above, for example in case of bankruptcy, then an additional write-down is applied so as to take account of the expected possibilities of recovery and future costs, on a prudent basis.

cash in hand and at bank

Short-term investments and liquid assets are entered at face value. Any write-downs are determined on an individual basis. Capital gains on investment instruments are not posted to the result until the instru-ments have been cashed.

initial value

In accordance with art. 54 of the Articles of Association, an initial bal-ance sheet was drawn up when the Port Authority was formed. This ini-tial balance sheet included the assets and liabilities of the most recent balance sheet of the municipally-owned company that was the predeces-sor of the Port Authority, on the understanding that corrections were car-ried out on the basis of figures for the financial year that became known later and/or as a result of amendments governing legal succession and the provisions of agreements on this subject with the City of Antwerp. The initial value was the difference between these assets and liabilities (corrected as necessary), taking into account the rights and obligations of the Port Authority. This amount is set at 307 million euros.

The initial value is derived from the net asset situation of the municipal-ly-owned company on 31 December 1996, after attribution of the invest-ment grants and revaluation surpluses. It can be represented as follows:Asset value on 31 December 1996: 502 million euros

Apportioned to:Revaluation surpluses 15 million eurosInvestment grants 180 million euros

Net assets 307 million euros

For a detailed discussion of the initial value and the contribution amount, readers are referred to the report on valuation of the contribution on the occasion of the setting up of Antwerp Port Authority.

Projects by the Electrical Facilities DepartmentIn the case of assets with similar characteristics (lamp standards, cable networks, low-voltage cabinets etc.) a system of standard values is used. The value of these assets is reviewed annually by comparing them with market prices. The value comprises the average purchase price plus the direct labour costs. Larger projects such as construction of high voltage substations are valued on an individual basis, according to the rule laid down for “Tangible fixed assets under construction.”

Financial fixed assets

Shares and profit-sharing certificates held by the company are posted to the assets at their acquisition value. The amounts receivable under this heading are included at their face value. The financial fixed assets are re-viewed annually, and a write-down is applied if there is a lasting reduc-tion in value or devaluation of all or part of them, or if there is uncertainty regarding their repayment. The amount of the write-down is proposed by the Management Committee and submitted to the Board of Directors for its approval.

stocks

Articles held in stock are valued at the latest acquisition value, which in practice represents a simplified replacement value. This means that for older articles the historical acquisition value is replaced by the most recent acquisition value. A reduction in value is applied to obsolescent items or those with a slow rate of rotation. Under this system a write-down by a fixed percentage is applied on the basis of the latest move-ment. The following percentages are applied:

NuMBEr OF yEArS wiThOuT MOvEMENT PErCENTAGE wriTE-DOwN

1 year 25%2 years 50%3 years 75%4 years and older 100%

By virtue of the strict application of reductions in value, this valuation approximates the methods permitted by Belgian accounting legislation.

Amounts receivable within one year and after one year

Amounts receivable are entered at their face value. Claims with a contractual period of more than one year are entered under “Amounts receivable after one year.” The portion falling due within the year is transferred to “Amounts receivable within one year.” A write-down is applied to doubtful claims and those in arrears, except those for which there are sufficient real sureties. A write-down on claims in arrears is automatically applied, as follows:


Pending litigationOn the basis of the list drawn up using information from the Port Authority’s lawyers and the Legal Department, provisions have been set aside to meet the potential obligations arising from pending litigation.

Environmental risksIf large environmental risks are individualised, then a provision is set aside in proportion to a reasoned estimate of the potential damage or clean-up costs.

Amounts payable

Amounts payable are entered at their face value. Obligations with a con-tractual period of more than one year are entered under “Amounts pay-able after one year.” The portion falling due within the year is transferred to “Amounts payable within one year.”

Accruals/Deferrals

Deferred charges and accrued income (assets) and accrued charges and deferred income (liabilities) are used to correctly allocate costs and income to the financial year to which they relate.

obligations, rights of recourse and suspense accounts

Obligations, rights of recourse and suspense accounts are taken into account up to the amount arising as a result of guarantees given by the Port Authority on behalf of third parties, or those given by third parties on behalf of the Port Authority. In each case they mention the amount of the non-financed obligations resting upon the Port Authority in respect of pensions for past service on the part of current or retired employees.

Port Decree

The subsidies granted to the Port Authority by the Flemish Region under the terms of the Port Decree are posted to the result as soon as there is sufficient certainty that they will actually be received, as judged from executive decrees and/or specific agreements.

Financial instruments

Financial instruments are used only if there is a specific economic rea-son, and then only for hedging purposes. No speculative transactions are entered into. The financial effects of the financial instruments are con-nected to the underlying object to which they relate.

Revaluation surpluses

In accordance with the circular sent to regional and local authorities, the non-subsidised depreciable tangible fixed assets were revalued up to and including 31/12/2002. The revaluation surpluses are placed in a separate liabilities account and held for as long as the assets to which they relate are not realised. However, surpluses can be:

∙ transferred to a reserve, up to the amount of the amortisation booked on the surplus;

∙ capitalised;∙ in the case of a later reduction in value, written down by the amount

of the part of the surplus not yet amortised.

Reserves

Statutory reserveThe statutory reserve is formed by annually appropriating 10% of the profit for the financial year. This obligation arises from art. 38 of the Articles of Association of Antwerp Port Authority.

Non-available reserveThe revaluation surplus, which in accordance with the regulations on this subject is calculated annually, can be transferred annually to this account, up to the amount of the amortisations.

investment grants

Investment grants relating to depreciable fixed assets are included in the Balance Sheet after the contractual obligations arising from the firm promise by the higher authority have been met. They are shown as fi-nancial income in the Income Statement, at the same rate as the depre-ciation of the assets for which they were granted. Subsidies that were not granted for an investment in fixed assets are included in the Income Statement, spread over the duration of the activities to which they relate. During the financial year investment grants amounting to 9.1 million euros were received.

Provision for contingencies and costs

Major repair and maintenance workThe future costs of major repair and maintenance work or periodic over-hauls can be estimated on a technical basis. The provisions made for these correspond to the costs that are expected to arise over the next 10 years. Provision is made only for the sum of the amounts that exceed the lowest recurring costs for major repair and maintenance work. This is known as the “peak shaving” method. A minimum of 2.5% of the acquisi-tion value of the assets (account 22 and 23) is provisioned. This percen-tage corresponds to the estimated minimum maintenance costs for the next one and a half years necessary to maintain the assets in good condition.


stAtUtoRY AUDitoR’s REPoRt FoR tHE YEAR EnDED 31 DEcEMBER 2008 to tHE citY coUnciL oF AntWERP

Your Worships,As required by law and the company’s articles of association, we are pleased to report to you on the audit assignment which you have entrust-ed to us. This report includes our opinion on the financial statements to-gether with the required additional comments and information.

unqualified audit opinion on the financial statementsWe have audited the financial statements of Antwerp Port Authorithy for the year ended 31 December 2008, prepared in accordance with the accounting principles applicable in Belgium, which show total assets of 1,196,492 (000) EUR and a profit for the year of 111,936 (000) EUR.The Board of Directors of the company is responsible for the preparation of the financial statements. This responsibility includes among other things: designing, implementing and maintaining internal control rel-evant to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, selecting and applying appropriate accounting policies, and making accounting estimates that are reasonable in the circumstances.Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with legal re-quirements and auditing standards applicable in Belgium, as issued by the “Institut des Reviseurs d’Entreprises/Instituut der Bedrijfsrevisoren.” Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement.In accordance with these standards, we have performed procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on our judgment, includ-ing the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assess-ments, we have considered internal control relevant to the company’s preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the company’s internal control. We have assessed the basis of the account-ing policies used, the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by the company and the presentation of the financial statements, taken as a whole. Finally, the Board of Directors and responsible officers of the com-pany have replied to all our requests for explanations and information. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained provides a reason-able basis for our opinion.In our opinion, the financial statements as of 31 December 2008 give a true and fair view of the company’s assets, liabilities, financial position and results in accordance with the accounting principles applicable in Belgium.

additional explanations and informationThe preparation and the assessment of the information that should be included in the directors’ report and the company’s compliance with the requirements of the Companies Code and its Articles of Association are

AGREEMEnT BETWEEn CiTy oF AnTWERP AnD PoRT AuTHoRiTy (EVEnT AFTER THE BALAnCE SHEET DATE)

On 3 February 2009 the Port Authority Board of Directors approved an agreement with the City of Antwerp, the provisions of which include the following:

∙ The “free” transfer of the land and assets owned by the Port Authority to the City of Antwerp, carried out per site, in principle on the expiry dates of the current concessions for each site. The net book value of all the assets involved (including docks) on 31 December 2008 amounted to 16.6 million euros.

∙ In the course of the coming years the Port Authority will renovate the various quay walls of the docks in the Eilandje area, so as to bring them into good condition consistent with their present function. The expendi-ture associated with this is currently estimated at 11 to 13 million euros.

∙ The Port Authority is to make a payment of 6 million euros to the City of Antwerp. These items will be taken into account in the annual accounts for 2009 and possibly the years after that.


the responsibility of the Board of Directors, as does compliance by the Port Authority with the Articles of Association, the relevant articles of the new municipal law and the Flemish Community Decree of 2 March 1999 concerning seaport management and policy. Our responsibility is to include in our report the following additional comments and information which do not change the scope of our audit opinion on the financial statements:

∙ The directors’ report includes the information required by law and is in agreement with the financial statements. However, we are unable to express an opinion on the description of the principal risks and uncer-tainties confronting the company, or on the status, future evolution, or significant influence of certain factors on its future development. We can, nevertheless, confirm that the information given is not in obvious contra-diction with any information obtained in the context of our appointment.

∙ We draw attention to the item “Important pending litigation and other important obligations” in the notes to the accounts “5.13 Rights and ob-ligations not included in the balance sheet,” in which the Board of Direc-tors states that two important claims are outstanding against the Port Authority. These represent large uncertainties, as the courts concerned have not yet come to any decisions. Depending on the outcome of these cases, they could have a large impact on the results and assets of the company.

∙ Without prejudice to certain formal aspects of minor importance, the ac-counting records are maintained and the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the applicable Belgian legal and regulatory requirements.

∙ We do not have to report any transactions carried out or decisions made in violation of the Articles of Association or the Companies Act, to which port authorities are subject under the terms of art. 5 §2 of the Flemish Community Decree of 2 March 1999. The proposed appropriation of the results is in accordance with the law and the Articles of Association.

Antwerp, 1 April 2009

The Auditor

DELOITTE Bedrijfsrevisoren BV o.v.v.e. CVBA Represented by Piet Demeester

REPoRt oF tHE inDEPEnDEnt AUDitoRsFoR tHE FinAnciAL YEAR EnDED on 31 DEcEMBER 2008sUBMittED to tHE citY coUnciL oF AntWERP

Your Worships,As required by law and the company’s Articles of Association, we are pleased to report to you on the audit assignment which you have entrust-ed to us. This report includes our opinion on the financial statements together with the required additional comments and information.

unqualified audit opinion on the financial statementsWe have audited the annual accounts of Antwerp Port Authority for the year ended 31 December 2008, prepared in accordance with Belgian GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles), with the balance sheet showing a total of 1,196,492 (000) EUR and the income statement show-ing a profit for the year of 111,936 (000) EUR.The Board of Directors of the company is responsible for the preparation of the financial statements. This responsibility includes among other things: designing, implementing and maintaining internal control rel-evant to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, selecting and applying appropriate accounting policies, and making accounting estimates that are reasonable in the circumstances. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements, based on our audit. We have performed procedures to obtain audit evi-dence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on our judgment, including the assess-ment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, we have considered internal control relevant to the company’s preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in order to design audit pro-cedures that are appropriate in the circumstances but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the company’s internal control. We have assessed the basis of the accounting policies used, the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by the company and the presentation of the financial statements, taken as a whole. Finally, the Board of Directors and responsible officers of the company have replied to all our requests for explanations and information. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.In our opinion, the financial statements as of 31 December 2008 give a true and fair view of the company’s assets, liabilities, financial position and results in accordance with the accounting principles applicable in Belgium.

additional explanations and informationThe preparation and the assessment of the information that should be included in the directors’ report and the company’s compliance with the requirements of the Companies Code and its Articles of Association are the responsibility of the Board of Directors, as does compliance by the Port Authority with the Articles of Association, the relevant articles of

122 Annual Report 2008

coLoPHon

The Annual Report is available in Dutch and English.You can read it online or order a printed version fromAntwerp Port Authority, Communication Department.

PUBLISHERAntwerp Port AuthorityPort House1 Entrepotkaai2000 AntwerpBelgiumT + 32 3 205 20 11F + 32 3 205 20 28E [email protected]

DESIGN AND LAYOUTCatapult, Antwerp

PHOTOGRAPHYAntwerp Port AuthorityJimmy Kets

PAPERArctic the Volume, FSC certified

the new municipal law and the Flemish Community Decree of 2 March 1999 concerning seaport management and policy. Our responsibility is to include in our report the following additional comments and information which do not change the scope of our audit opinion on the financial statements:

∙ The directors’ report includes the information required by law and is in agreement with the financial statements. However, we are unable to express an opinion on the description of the principal risks and uncer-tainties confronting the company, or on the status, future evolution, or significant influence of certain factors on its future development. We can, nevertheless, confirm that the information given is not in obvious contra-diction with any information obtained in the context of our appointment.

∙ We draw attention to the item “Important pending litigation and other important obligations” in the notes to the accounts “5.13 Rights and ob-ligations not included in the balance sheet,” in which the Board of Direc-tors states that two important claims are outstanding against the Port Authority. These represent large uncertainties, as the courts concerned have not yet come to any decisions. Depending on the outcome of these cases, they could have a large impact on the results and assets of the company.

∙ Without prejudice to certain formal aspects of minor importance, the ac-counting records are maintained and the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the applicable Belgian legal and regulatory requirements.

∙ We do not have to report any transactions carried out or decisions made in violation of the Articles of Association or the Companies Act, to which port authorities are subject under the terms of art. 5 §2 of the Flemish Community Decree of 2 March 1999. The proposed appropriation of the results is in accordance with the law and the Articles of Association.

Antwerp, 1 April 2009

For the Independent Auditors

Ann Coolsaet Guy LauwersAntwerp City Councillor Antwerp City Councillor

GERMANYHeinz ifflandTaubenstrasse 8746539 DinslakenGermanyT + 49 20 64 9 07 55F + 49 20 64 9 07 55E [email protected]

USARobert Klein7428 Meadow RoadTX 75230 DallasuSAT +1 214 750 0884F +1 214 722 0170E [email protected]

Eduard F. Dekkers225 Rector Pl. 15B10280 new yorkuSAT +1 212 945 3782F +1 212 945 7240E [email protected]

BRAZILMadeleine onclinxAvenida ipiranga, 200 – Bloco D/20201046-925 São PauloBrazilT +55 11 3258 6214F +55 11 3259 2698E [email protected]

INDIARaj Khalid50 Manuel Gonsalves Road Bandra, Mumbai 400050india E [email protected]

CHINAJan Van der Borght Suite F2, 25th Floor, Jun yao int Plaza no. 789, Zhao Jia Bang Road Shanghai 200032ChinaT +86 21 5496 0376/8/9F +86 21 5496 0375E [email protected]

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