Scheldt Tunnel elements head for Antwerp
Concrete tunnel elements leave Zeebrugge for Scheldt crossing
Jan De Nul Group and its project partners have begun the next phase in delivering the Scheldt Tunnel, a key part of Belgium’s Oosterweel connection, by flooding the dock where the eight tunnel elements have been under construction for the past two years.
Each concrete element is over 200 metres long — larger than a football pitch — and will form part of the immersed tunnel crossing the Scheldt River in Antwerp. The tunnel is the central piece of the Oosterweel project, which aims to complete the Antwerp Ring Road and improve regional connectivity.
The dry dock in Zeebrugge is now being flooded with 800,000 cubic metres of water, the equivalent of 320 Olympic swimming pools. Once afloat, each of the eight precast units will be towed over 100 kilometres via the North Sea and the Scheldt estuary, a journey expected to take around 30 hours.
The first element is scheduled to depart in May 2025, marking a milestone in a complex engineering and logistics operation involving Jan De Nul, Lantis, and the TM COTU consortium — made up of BESIX, DEME Group, and Stadsbader Contractors.
Constructed using precast concrete techniques, the tunnel elements were cast in controlled conditions on-site in Zeebrugge. The submerged installation method is similar to that used in other major immersed tunnel projects and enables minimal disruption to navigation and surface transport during construction.
Once delivered, the elements will be submerged and connected beneath the riverbed, eventually creating a 1.8 kilometre road tunnel linking the left and right banks of Antwerp. The completed tunnel will carry both cars and active transport, including cycling and pedestrian infrastructure.
The Oosterweel project, overseen by public project agency Lantis, is one of Belgium’s largest infrastructure schemes and aims to improve mobility, reduce congestion, and improve quality of life in and around the Antwerp region.
For more details on the Oosterweel connection and Scheldt Tunnel construction are available on the project website.
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