AIMS / RESOURCES / MISSIONS / RATES
	The Autonomous Port of Charleroi: Versatility and modernity

Practical, realistic, sustainable mobility is the theme closest to the hearts of the directors of our port. The multimodality of the area and the increasing interest the business world is taking in the waterways are pluses, appreciated on a daily basis. Inland water transport in fact brings together all the advantages of economy of storage, lower cost, environmental friendliness and unfailing reliability.

Many possibilities

The PAC can boast management of 460 hectares of land along 30 km of waterway between the Sambre and the entrance to the Charleroi-Bruxelles Canal, 70% of which are at present being used by more than 80 businesses benefiting from high quality sites at good prices. The installation of the Inox centre at Charleroi completes the picture of an economic growth organisation which intends to move its logistics centre, deployed round a trimodal platform, forward to achieve excellence.

Its role

Created by the Law of 12th February 1971, but officially installed on 29th June 1971, the autonomous port of Charleroi is an association of public authorities bringing together the Walloon Region, the intercommunal association Igretec, the City of Charleroi and the Province of Hainaut.

Its essential missions are:

1. to add value to the economic and industrial capacities of the Charleroi region by promoting water transport;
2. to manage the important heritage created by the State on the banks of the Sambre and the canal between Charleroi and Brussels, as part of the large-scale organisation of these navigable waterways;
3. to supplement the existing facilities, create new infrastructures, and organise their operation in the most appropriate manner;
4. to contract the land it manages to the Port users.

Its resources

To complete its missions, the Port can benefit from the assistance of the technical departments of the Ministry of Facilities and Transport (MET) and the Ministry of Finance (Property Acquisition Committee).

The Port has various resources designed to achieve its aims:

1. the fees and dues paid by the users;
2. subsidies from the public authorities;
3. powers re issuing of loans.

Three essential economic functions

An industrial function

To enable processing industries within the port area to take delivery of their raw materials and send out their finished products in the best conditions.

A commercial function

To receive, store and sell products within the port. Businesses distant from the waterway, and the economy of the region in general, benefit largely from the distribution of these products from the trader or stockist judiciously established in the port area.

A regional function

To encourage supplies to the Charleroi region as well as the export of its local products. The PAC centre is substantial, as its facilities extend along 30 km of waterways, linked to the inland areas by modern road and rail networks.

Its action plan

The Port’s investments relate mainly to road and rail links, with water, power and drainage equipment. On the other hand, it is left to the users to acquire their own equipment, using their own judgement as to the best solutions to the specific requirements of their activities and traffic