News item | 16-05-2022 | 18:19
Almost 80 Dutch companies and organizations will participate in the trade mission in Belgium on Thursday and Friday sustainable infrastructure and circular construction† The mission is led by Minister Liesje Schreinemacher (Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation) and State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen (Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management).
Entrepreneurs, knowledge institutions (including TNO and Vito), cities (including Amsterdam, Mechelen and Leuven) and sector organizations (including Bouwend Nederland, Flemish Construction Confederation) from the Netherlands and Belgium will exchange experiences with each other and come to business in the sustainable and circular construction sector. The total construction turnover in the Netherlands and Belgium is jointly estimated at 130 billion euros per year.
Minister Liesje Schreinemacher: ‘Belgium is our second largest trading partner worldwide. The delta of Scheldt, Rhine and Meuse is one integrated economic whole. Belgium and the Netherlands have been at the forefront of economic innovations in Europe for 400 years, such as the construction of modern ports. We also want to lead the way together in the field of the circular economy’.
The application of circular construction methods is important to achieve a sustainable economy. Both Belgium and the Netherlands have ambitious sustainability targets. The Netherlands and Belgium share the desire to be fully circular by 2050.
State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen: ‘To achieve this objective, we will have to collaborate much more intensively in Europe and share knowledge and experiences. In the coming years, for example, many infrastructural projects will be repaired and replaced in both the Netherlands and Belgium. As governments, we can really give a boost with circular procurement and thus accelerate the transition to a circular economy.’
Circularity and the reuse of materials ensures that we leave our environment cleaner for future generations and that we become less dependent on raw materials from other countries.
To underline the importance of joint action, a will also be held on Thursday 19 May in the Handelsbeurs in Antwerp Memorandum of Understanding signed for the European Interreg Flanders-Netherlands project BOUW-MIJN. This will be done in the presence of Minister Schreinemacher and the Flemish Minister Zuhal Demir (Justice and Enforcement, Environment, Energy and Tourism). This project will accelerate the circular transition in the construction sector in Flanders and the Netherlands by paying attention to circular demolition, return logistics and materials management.
During the mission, cross-border cooperation in the construction chain, scaling up circular business models and the application of circular and biobased materials in roads, bridges and buildings will be discussed. The Dutch participants will also make various company visits in Brussels and Antwerp. For example, a visit will be made to Het Facilitair Bedrijf, the most important client for Flemish government buildings. A visit to the implementation organization Lantis is also on the program. Lantis is the pivot in the execution of the very large-scale Oosterweel works in Antwerp.