Oostende, 8 am | At the REBO terminal in the Port of Oostende, technicians move around before leaving to carry out the daily maintenance of the wind turbines. CTVs (crew transfer vessels) pick up the technicians at specially equipped pontoons. Every day about 20 CTVs with an average of 12 people each sail in and out of the port of Oostende.
A few metres away there is a brand new building. Two international companies from the wind energy sector: Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and Norther, officially move in here today. Once they are fully operational, together they will employ 35 local people.
The Port of Oostende has paid for the entire investment. They decided to build a much larger building than there were contracts. The offshore wind market in Oostende is still in full expansion and this is anticipated by providing extra warehouses and offices.
For the other spaces, there are already such far-reaching contacts that the Port of Oostende is convinced they will be occupied by the beginning of next year. In total this new building will provide 900 m² of warehouse space and 2100 m² of offices.
The architect of this building and of the traffic management plan, is MOP Urban Design. The studies were conducted by COBE (stability) and Istema (technique). The main contractor is Alheembouw from Oostnieuwkerke, with as main subcontractors: Van Vooren (electricity) and SPIE (HVAC).
