On May 19, the program consisted of 77 Dutch and 100 Belgian parties participating in plenary sessions, break-out sessions, matchmaking, an extensive networking lunch a Cocktail reception at the residence of the Ambassador in Brussels Pieter Jan Kleiweg de Zwaan at the end of the day.

During the day, Dutch Minister Liesje Schreinemacher and State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen on the one hand and Flemish Ministers Lydia Peeters and Zuhal Demir on the other hand, made important contributions.

More than 200 one-on-one conversations set up by TRANSFER took place and finally an MOU was signed between a Flemish and Dutch party.

On May 20, the second mission day, the program consisted mainly of group visits to Bouwheer Lantis, Willemen Infra, Colruyt Group Mills of Orshoven & Silos. For each organization, their ambitions and challenges to make existing and new construction projects more sustainable were discussed. Finally, to conclude the whole program in a pleasant way, there were drinks with all participants.

What are the market opportunities for your sustainable civil engineering company in Vlaanderen?

• In Vlaanderen, many Dutch companies are already active in sustainable civil engineering. Five billion euros are being invested in new and existing projects, including the Oosterweel link and the Brussels ring road.

• There is a need for extra capacity and innovative methods offered by Dutch companies. It is hoped that this will help to realize the high ambitions of, for example, the Oosterweel project and the implementation of the V&R assignments.

What are the market opportunities for your sustainable and circular construction company in Vlaanderen?

• Large-scale renovation of residential and non-residential buildings. Here lies a major task for the energetic renovation of existing buildings, flexible and multiple use of space and circular urban planning.

• Large investments lead to orders for suppliers of residential and commercial construction.

• For example, as part of post-corona relance, Flanders has launched a large-scale program to accelerate the sustainable renovation of homes and other buildings, the Brussels Capital Region is investing over €350 million through the Renolution program until 2024 to triple its renovation task.

• New (large-scale) tenders and contracts that Dutch companies can also reap the benefits of initiatives such as the Green Deal Circular Building and the Green Deal Circular Purchasing (GDCA) promote the circular approach in the region.

Testimonies:

Gerald Baal and his TRANSFER team provided high-quality matchmaking during the Sustainable Construction trade mission in Belgium in May 2022. Tenacious, courteous and always good reporting. –  Ambassador PJ Kleiweg 

The TRANSFER team was instrumental in making sure that the Ministerial Mission Belgium was very well filled with both relevant Dutch and Belgian players from the sustainable construction sector. – Consul General Bert van der Lingen

At last trade mission of sustainable construction in Belgium with Minister Liesje Schreinemacher and Secretary of State Vivianne Heijnen, Construction & Display, manufacturer of prefabricated building elements, was very satisfied with the matchmaking conducted by TRANSFER.LC. In addition to the appointments made with major construction companies and architects, in the time that was left, several more companies were quickly squeezed in for meaningful discussions, yielding a total of 7 promising contacts. – Tim Van Lersel