Yesterday at 9:53 PM • Modified yesterday at 10:16 PM
The scenario in which Moerdijk continues to exist has been ‘more emphatically’ discussed by the cabinet. State Secretary Jo-Annes de Bat (Climate and Green Growth) reports in a letter to Parliament that he is considering the option of ‘realizing a smaller expansion of the Moerdijk port and industry cluster’. If this is chosen, the village will not have to disappear to make way for the expansion of the port and industrial area and large-scale energy projects.
In November the situation seemed a lot clearer. The municipality of Moerdijk then indicated that the disappearance of the village would be inevitable in the long term. Alderman Danny Dingemans brought that news to the 1,100 residents at the time, in the expectation that the government and province would follow that line. That didn’t happen. The decision has now been postponed until June 2026 and the future of the village is open again.
Last week it became clear that it is still uncertain whether the village of Moerdijk will have to disappear in the long term for new plans regarding energy supply. According to the municipality, the central government is examining whether less space may be needed for energy projects and industry in the area, which would allow the village to continue to exist. The municipality wrote this on its website on Thursday.
Great pressure on the region
In the letter, the government outlines that the Moerdijk region is dealing with several major challenges at the same time, such as the energy transition, new energy projects, making industry more sustainable and the possible expansion of the port and industry cluster. All these plans put a lot of pressure on the available space in the area.
According to the State Secretary, no choice has yet been made and ‘various scenarios are being further developed and weighed against each other’.
No decision has been made yet
The cabinet emphasizes that the decision on the future of Moerdijk and the port area has been postponed until the end of June. Until then, discussions will continue with the municipality of Moerdijk, the province of North Brabant and residents and entrepreneurs from the region. This not only looks at the economy and energy, but also at the consequences for the quality of life of the village and the surrounding area.
Where previously it was mainly assumed that the village would be closed down, an alternative scenario is now on the table in which Moerdijk can continue to exist. That is not yet a choice, but one of the options that is being further investigated.
The government says that a decision to make a village disappear is only possible if there is a solid substantiation for it and all interests have been properly weighed.
Conversations with residents
In the coming period it must become clear what the various options actually mean for residents, entrepreneurs and the region. The government wants to discuss this further with all parties involved.
For residents of Moerdijk, the situation remains uncertain for the time being, although The Hague says it wants to work on clarity as quickly as possible.
View all articles about the possible disappearance of Moerdijk here.
Meanwhile in Moerdijk
How do you continue to live as normally as possible when you have been told that the village where you have lived for years, or perhaps even where you were born, must disappear? In the monthly series Meanwhile in Moerdijkcan be seen at Brabant+we follow some residents and show their daily lives.