Today, the Albert Canal is one of the main arteries of the Flemish economy, but it was created out of sheer necessity.
In 1928, the government decided that a faster and more efficient link between the Meuse and Scheldt rivers was necessary. As such, it aimed to give a significant boost to the transport of raw materials, water, and other goods. At that time, bargemasters had to navigate through the Kempen canals. The journey could take up to 12 days, partly due to the numerous locks along the route.
A total of 12,840 workers spent nine years constructing the canal, which was named after King Albert I. Thanks to the Albert Canal, travel time for bargemasters was reduced to around 14 hours. The canal stretches 129 kilometres and features only six lock complexes, located in Wijnegem, Genk, Diepenbeek, Hasselt, Kwaadmechelen, and Olen. These locks effectively compensate for the 56-metre difference in elevation along the route. Each lock complex consists of three locks. If one lock needs to close, ships can still use the remaining locks. This ensures that businesses along the Albert Canal remain accessible at all times.
In 1939, the Albert Canal officially opened. Unfortunately, shortly afterwards, World War II broke out, preventing the canal from immediately demonstrating its economic value.
Although the canal also served a military purpose. Bunkers were built along the western bank to defend against attacks from the east. Fort Eben-Emael is a prominent example of this. Unfortunately, it was unable to hold off the advancing German troops for long.
After the war, the Albert Canal quickly demonstrated its value. It played a key role in Belgium’s economic recovery, with industrial hubs emerging along the entire length of the canal.
The Albert Canal winding past the cliffs near Fort Eben-Emael.
Today, the canal carries over 40 million tons of goods annually, removing around 2 million trucks from the roads each year. Container transport has seen substantial growth over the past decade. The waterway is managed by De Vlaamse Waterweg NV and the Service Public de Wallonie.
The Albert Canal links Antwerp directly to Liège , passing through industrial hubs such as Genk, Beringen, Tessenderlo, Geel, Herentals, and Grobbendonk. Companies such as Nike, along with inland port terminals in the region, are investing heavily in inland shipping. For the port of Antwerp, the canal serves as a gateway to the hinterland, allowing goods to be transported quickly, cheaply, and sustainably to the Meuse region and beyond.
The link to the E313 motorway and the terminals along the canal make it a key logistics hub. Moreover, in recent years, all bridges over the canal were raised to 9.10 metres. Inland navigation craft carrying up to four layers of containers can thus safely navigate the canal. This creates additional opportunities for inland ports. In 2024, half a million TEU, the standard unit of measurement for containers, were transported via the Albert Canal.
The Albert Canal is much more than a transport artery. It is the largest source of drinking water in Flanders: about 40 percent of Flemish households drink water that ultimately comes from the canal. Each year, this amounts to 156 million cubic meters of water. Through facilities such as the one in Oelegem, Water-link turns it into drinking water for the Antwerp region.
The canal also supplies water to industry and other waterways and, for many years, even fed the Langerlo power plant. The water mainly originates from the Meuse River, flowing in via Liège and Maastricht.
During prolonged dry periods, when water levels in the Meuse drop, water is pumped back from the Antwerp docks through large pumping installations at the canal lock complexes. In times of water surplus, these installations operate in reverse to generate electricity — producing around three million kWh of green energy each year. That’s enough to power roughly a thousand households. This unique combination of pumping system and hydroelectric plant makes the Albert Canal a true dual source of water and energy.
