Antwerp (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Zeeland and Noord-Brabant provinces of the Netherlands officially stopped pursuing appeals against Ineos’s ethane cracker project at Antwerp port. A public announcement came from the office of Flemish Prime Minister Matthias Diependaele.
The Dutch provinces Zeeland, together with Noord-Brabant, have decided to stop challenging the permits issued to chemical company Ineos for the development of its ethane cracker facility at the Port of Antwerp. The office of Flemish Prime Minister Matthias Diependaele declared the decision to discontinue litigation against the fourth permit awarded by Antwerp province in January 2024. Project One has taken an important advancement after the Dutch provinces of Zeeland and Noord-Brabant decided to stop their legal challenges to the environmental project.
Once the Flemish government granted Ineos an environmental permit for their ethane cracker in 2022, this disagreement originated. Somewhat differently, the governments of Noord-Brabant, together with Zeeland, decided to challenge the environmental decision made by Ineos in 2022 due to their environmental concerns. The permit was cancelled in July 2023 by the Council for Permit Disputes, and following that, conditional and definitive permits were issued, which were also appealed.
In November, the Flemish ministers, under the direction of Prime Minister Diependaele, negotiated with the Dutch officials to suspend further appeal procedures as long as more information on the nitrogen deposition was provided.
The Flemish government will continue to focus on consultation with the Netherlands in the coming years, says the Prime Minister.
“Now that we have found each other, we will not let each other go. In the coming months and years, we will continue to focus on even better relations with the Netherlands and its provinces.”
The Flemish and Dutch nitrogen and permit policies will also be better coordinated. This will be discussed again at a Flemish-Dutch summit on 1 April.
Minister of the Environment Jo Brouns (CD&V) speaks of a
“crucial step towards a robust licensing policy that benefits our border provinces and therefore the Flemish and Dutch economy”.
Ports Minister Annick De Ridder (N-VA) hopes that Ineos can now continue working on Project One without further obstacles.
“This is one of the largest investments in our Flemish economy in recent decades. This multi-billion project not only anchors the role of the Port of Antwerp as an economic engine in the wider region, it also puts Flanders even more firmly on the industrial map.”
The provinces of Noord-Brabant and Zeeland confirm that they are stopping the procedures against the ethane cracker of Ineos.
“Constructive consultations have led to our conclusion that the effects of the increased emissions of Ineos on the Brabantse Wal are acceptable,”
Says Saskia Boelema, a deputy of Noord-Brabant.
The Zeeland deputy for Nature, Wilfried Nielen, emphasises that the cross-border nitrogen problem will now be tackled jointly.
“We will systematically exchange knowledge about policy and permits, and we will also make agreements about testing cross-border effects for future developments.”
What is the history of the Ineos Ethane Cracker project?
The Ineos ethane cracker known as Project One, worth several billion US dollars, is an investment plan of the chemical firm Ineos to construct a big ethane cracker in the port of Antwerp in Belgium. Revealed in 2019, the project is intended to create ethylene production that will enhance Antwerp as an industrial centre that provides materials for plastics and chemicals manufacturing.
Nevertheless, the project has however received stiff opposition from some of the Dutch provinces and environmental organisations. In 2022, the Flemish government issued the environmental permit to Ineos, which was appealed against by the Dutch provinces of Noord-Brabant and Zeeland as well as the environmental organisations due to nitrogen and ecological damage.
