Wallonia, through its regional economic tool Wallonie Entreprendre, has just finalised the buyback of the former ArcelorMittal industrial sites in the Liège region. WE is acquiring the entire Chertal site and partnering respectively with Ecoterres (DEME Group) and MG Real Estate for the redevelopment of the coking plant and Blast Furnace B (HFB) sites. Regarding the Blast Furnace 6 (HF6) site, discussions are continuing with the REVEL1 consortium; failing an agreement, WE will acquire the site itself by the end of 2024. As a long-term process, the redevelopment of these areas will continue under the guidance of the Walloon Government, WE and local stakeholders, in order to restore these major strategic sites to a purpose of economic development and job creation, while paying attention to urban planning and landscape aspects. The rehabilitation of industrial wasteland is a key pillar of the Recovery Plan. Minister of the Economy Willy BORSUS has allocated an €80 million budget to finance the future of these sites.
The context
The redevelopment of disused and polluted industrial sites is a key theme for sustainable and responsible spatial planning. The challenges are numerous: land rehabilitation, limiting land artificialisation, improving environmental quality and living conditions, and of course job creation and economic redevelopment of the areas concerned. As of 1 July 2023 (IWEPS figures), Wallonia had 3,224 hectares of SAR (sites to be redeveloped), representing 0.19% of its territory. These sites are also located in strategic areas, namely close to towns and/or major roads. This location makes them key places for the ambitions and needs of economic redevelopment and naturally facilitates their reintegration into the territorial value chain. 2
This redevelopment approach also aligns with the Government's goal of converting 100 hectares of industrial wasteland per year, in order to anticipate land needs in Wallonia (particularly for major industrial projects) while avoiding encroachment on farmland.
On 30 April 2020, on the proposal of Minister for the Economy and Spatial Planning Willy BORSUS, the Government mandated Wallonie Entreprendre (WE) to negotiate the acquisition and redevelopment of the ArcelorMittal sites in the Liège basin (alongside the Duferco-Carsid site in Charleroi). These specifically are the ArcelorMittal sites, which represent a potential of 282 hectares. The area is divided between the Chertal wasteland, the largest at 186 hectares, and three other sites located in Seraing: Blast Furnace 6 (HF6), Blast Furnace B (HFB) and the Ougrée Coking Plant, each covering an average of 32 hectares.
A Master plan for quality redevelopment
The buyback of the Liège sites is being finalised today, but the redevelopment work began for the Government and its partners several months ago, with the selection of a multidisciplinary team led by the urban and landscape planning firm Agence TER. The aim was to establish a Master plan for these sites, i.e. a long-term roadmap for their redevelopment. In practical terms, this was not about fixing a future, but about studying the sites, identifying their strengths in order to envision an ideal outcome and setting a framework within which redevelopment projects should be carried out. The Master plan aimed to set out guidelines for prioritising the redevelopment of economic activity and employment by diversifying sectors, while embedding these redevelopments in a resolutely modern vision that ensures urban planning and landscape quality. The economic projects identified through the Master plan work are high value-added and will generate jobs2.
2 To view the Master plan: https://www.wallonie-entreprendre.be/fr/expertises/reconversion-de-sites/reconversion-des-sites-industriels-darcelormittal-a-liege-livraison-du-master-plan/
A collaborative process
Negotiations between the stakeholders took quite a long time, but their conclusion reflects a genuinely positive and collaborative dynamic, as this is not the conclusion of a single project but of several, whose optimisation was pushed far so that each site could benefit from the best possible prospects and quality. Thus, WE alone is acquiring the Chertal site (186 hectares) through the specially created company SORECHER. The Coking Plant and HFB sites are part of a PPP (public-private partnership), respectively with Ecoterres holding 51% of the partnership (DEME Group) and the European developer MG Real Estate holding 75% minus one share of the partnership. Regarding the Blast Furnace 6 (HF6) site, discussions are continuing with the REVEL consortium; failing an agreement, WE will acquire the site itself by the end of 2024. This range of creative solutions demonstrates how much emphasis was placed on finding an overall solution and on the skills of each partner, in a spirit of collaboration, agility and tangible results. It was also about finding a 3
overall agreement that took into account the negotiations already under way between ArcelorMittal and prospective buyers. It is important to stress that all possible scenarios were considered between the parties. If one of the projects could not be carried out as planned, whether PPP or private, WE could then take over 100% of the site concerned. Wallonie Entreprendre thus played its role both as coordinator and unifier among stakeholders and as an all-in-one project manager serving the Walloon Government.
Financing the project
Redeveloping wasteland comes at a cost. Rehabilitation operations on already artificialised land generally incur additional expenses for dismantling, decontamination or major restructuring, which also lead to longer timeframes and greater financial risks than developing a similar project on virgin land.
A large part of the work presented today involved, on one hand, assessing the value of the sites after dismantling and decontamination, and on the other, estimating the cost of decontamination.
In this context, ArcelorMittal is financing the remediation work for which it is responsible (the “polluter pays” principle).
In this project, everything was designed so that the operation would ultimately be profitable and the costs would be offset by the revenues generated at the end of the redevelopment. However, temporary financial mobilisation is needed to fund the operations that must take place before the plots are made available (through sale, lease, subdivision, etc.). To this end, the Walloon Government has allocated an €80 million budget under Wallonia's Recovery Plan to finance the future redevelopment of these sites and their re-equipping.
These redevelopments will be carried out through specifically established project companies bringing together the stakeholders.
What comes next?
The redevelopment of these four major sites will thus continue under the best possible conditions. Dismantling operations are already under way on the acquired sites and are expected to continue until 2027, in line with the demolition permits granted in April 2021.
The aim is that, as soon as the dismantling work has been completed, additional soil surveys (beneath the buildings that still exist today) can take place as quickly as possible to plan the remediation work.
At the same time, the redevelopment projects will be refined, clarified and presented to stakeholders before permit applications are submitted. Many steps remain ahead, and they will span several years. However, the acquisition of the sites marks a major milestone in this process. All partners are ready for the next phase, in a constructive spirit and with a deep revaluation of these lands and spaces. 4
ArcelorMittal welcomes the conclusion of these transactions, which will allow it to fully focus on its future projects, including carbon neutrality for its steelmaking processes by 2050, with an interim target of a 35% reduction by 2030 (compared to 2018). To achieve this goal, ArcelorMittal is working simultaneously on three fronts through an approach that seeks to place its industry at the heart of the circular economy:
- Continuous improvement of material and energy efficiency, notably by developing renewable energy capacity (currently 87 MW).
- Reduction of fossil carbon demand.
- Development of Smart Carbon concepts: through projects such as Steelanol, ArcelorMittal Belgium is active in “Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU)”, and it also takes part in projects relating to “Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)”.
Faced with environmental challenges, the steel company in the Liège basin, with more than 600 employees, is taking action on multiple levels. More than 10,000 m² of solar panels have been installed on the factory roofs, equivalent to 2 MW of green energy production, which is itself reused in the production process. Responsible for galvanising steel produced at the group's other sites, the Liège team has developed Jet Vapor Deposition (JVD), a technology unique in the world that coats the steel strip by spraying zinc vapour, while reducing its environmental footprint. It was also a pioneer in developing Magnelis®, a highly corrosion-resistant coating used in the supporting structures of solar panels.
According to the Minister for the Economy and Spatial Planning Willy BORSUS: “These sites, and Chertal in particular, are especially important levers for the strategic relocation of activities. This operation allows us to preserve the legacy of our industrial past. It is the largest operation of its kind ever carried out in Wallonia. It covers a total of 282 hectares. It opens up particularly significant prospects, namely bringing economic activity back to these sites and enabling the entire Liège region to be a major player in Wallonia's industrial redevelopment. This is why this is a historic moment. ”