The Kieldrecht Lock (

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

: Kieldrechtsluis), referred to as the Deurgank Dock Lock (

: Deurgankdoksluis) during construction, is the largest

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

in the world when only considering water volume. The Kieldrecht Lock is the newer of two locks that give access to the left-bank docks of the

Port of Antwerp The port of Antwerp is the port of the city of Antwerp, Belgium. It is located in Flanders, mainly in the province of Antwerp, but also partially in East Flanders. It is a seaport in the heart of Europe accessible to capesize ships. It is Eu ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, between the

Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...

river and the

Waasland Canal The Waasland (, archaically "Waesland") or Land van Waas () is a historic region in northern Belgium. It is part of the Belgian province of East Flanders. The other borders are with the Scheldt and Durme rivers (east and south) and, to the north, ...

. The creation of the Kieldrecht lock has relieved the amount of traffic for the Waasland Canal that the Kallo Lock was experiencing. The lock, situated in the municipality of Beveren, was opened on 10 June 2016 in the presence of

King Philippe of Belgium Philippe (born 15 April 1960) is King of the Belgians. He is the eldest child of King Albert II and Queen Paola. He succeeded his father upon the former's abdication for health reasons on 21 July 2013. He married Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz in 19 ...

Construction

On 24 October 2011, work started on the Kieldrecht Lock on the left bank of the Scheldt. The construction of the lock was completed on 27 April 2015, and the lock was filled with water. The filling with 1 million m³ of water took a week. The official opening was initially planned for 15 April 2016, but opening was postponed due to heavy water damage in a technical room. The opening finally took place on 10 June 2016, in the presence of King Filip. Based on the design of the Berendrecht Lock, it has the same length and width, but a bottom at below TAW. To construct the lock, 9.1 million m³ of earth was excavated, and 22,000 tonnes of structural steel, three times the amount required to build the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

. Costing €340 million, of which 50% is financed by the

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the 27 member states. It is the largest multilateral financial institution in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt sol ...

, the Flemish

KBC Bank KBC Group N.V. is a Belgian universal multi-channel bank-insurer, focusing on private clients and small and medium-sized enterprises in Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. It was created in 1998 through the merger of Kredi ...

also made an €81 million credit line available, with the balance provided by the Antwerp Port Authority and the Flemish Government.

Dimensions

The dimensions of the Kieldrecht Lock are: *Length: *Width: *Operational depth below TAW: *Lock gates: four sliding gates

References

External links

Official website
{{Belgian ports Buildings and structures in Antwerp Locks of Belgium