Brussels canal zone gets €200 million from EU

The European Commission has announced funding of €200 million over the next six years for the canal zone in central Brussels – twice as much as the area received in the previous six years.

The money is for Regional Development Fund investments in sustainable construction, waste management, food, health and the creative sector. The zone is a former industrial area and includes both sides of the canal, which runs through the entire region, linking the centre of the capital with Antwerp and the North Sea.

Recent years have seen a number of advanced and innovative projects in the area, from the building of a new European school in Laken to the tallest apartment block in the country to  a planned new cruise terminal. Two of the new shopping and leisure centres planned for the Brussels area – Uplace and Dockx Bruxsel – are within the canal zone.

The area contains four of the 10 strategic areas targeted by the Brussels-Capital Region for international development. They are the Schaarbeek Formation railway site, intended to become a multi-modal logistics platform; the district around South Station; the Tour & Taxis site; and the area around West Station.

Among the projects that shared in the €114 million in grants from Europe over the last six years are the Bellevue training hotel, the ecological business centre Greenbizz and the city farm to be built on top of the roof of the Anderlecht abattoir. EU funding provided an estimated 600 jobs as well as 100 spaces for children in day care.

Projects can apply for a grant from the 2014-2020 fund by submitting an application by 25 July.

photo courtesy Koos Fernhout/Wikimedia Commons