Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has enlisted consultancy firm Indecon to draw up plans. Water sports, culture, and heritage are the key priorities for the project, which is intended to restore the city’s general appeal. A water sports campus could be created on the site of the old ferry terminal, while Carlisle Pier could house a culture and heritage centre.

In 2013, Ports de Paris embarked on a project to redevelop the Port of Javel on the Seine, at the gateway to Paris’ historic and tourist centre. The plan was to create a new precinct housing logistical and industrial activities alongside promenades and recreational zones. Steps were undertaken to modernise the concrete plant operated by the Lafarge Holcim group. Lafarge’s initial proposal was substantially overhauled after almost a year of consultations between Lafarge Holcim, Ports de Paris, local residents and elected representatives of the City of Paris. The various measures adopted will pave the way for improved environmental performance, while ensuring the plant is integrated more effectively into the local architecture and landscape.

The rapid growth of alternative fuels is particularly strong in port cities, which are becoming hubs for testing and production. There are a host of advantages. The OECD’s International Transport Forum (ITF) is due to take place this week, on the theme “Transport Innovation for Sustainable Development”. These new energy sources, such as hydrogen and ammonia, can be used in industry. A good example can be found in Singapore, with the consortium formed by Itochu Enex, Vopak, Pavilion Energy, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Total Marine Fuels. There is also a green hydrogen hub set to be created at North Sea Port (Netherlands/Belgium), thanks to a cooperation between VoltH2 and Virya Energy. But these industrial uses must not completely supplant urban uses, such as hydrogen as a fuel for individual vehicles, or LNG to cut carbon emissions from bus engines. Once again, the growth of the port industry must take account of the aspirations of citizens and local residents.

IKEA will create a new logistic warehouse in the port of Limay-Porcheville, close to Paris, to develop deliveries via the river for its customers. The new building with 72,000 m2 has also been designed to optimize energy consumption, with innovative building materials and more than 28,000 m2 of photovoltaic panels in the roof. River delivery has several advantages for the brand, since it will allow access to the centre of Paris. It offers safe delivery times, combined with zero-emission solutions, through a combination of electric vehicles and river transport. In Antwerp, a new water taxi service, named “Waterlimo”, will connect the city centre with the neighbouring municipality of Temse in 30 minutes, complementing the waterbus connections already functioning in the Belgian port city.

The ‘North Sea Port Talent’ project, launched by the port authority in cooperation with the municipalities of Ghent and Terneuzen, and the province of East Flanders will address the difficulties to find technical profiles for port companies. The project will have two main vectors to align supply and demand on the labour market. The first one, will focus on developing a cross-border service model around work and training in the North Sea Port region to coordinate the training and supply of professionals with the demands of the companies. The second area will focus on short-term issues, implementing concrete innovative pilot projects with a strong focus on STEM (STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics)  jobs and on candidates who have at least a secondary education or bachelor’s degree. The project will also investigate mobility in the port, looking at how multimodal commuting can be promoted. Additionally, and also contributing to Human Capital development, North Sea Port and HZ University of Applied Sciences signed an agreement on Tuesday 18 May to collaborate in the field of asset management and data science.