New headquarters Antwerp Police Force opens its doors: milestone for BESIX’s largest Public-Private Partnership in Belgium

The building has a total surface of 78,000 m² and consists of two towers with ten above-ground floors that are connected by a central core of four floors. In addition, the building has four underground floors with a large parking, which is adapted to the height of specific service vehicles, and several logistics spaces.

The new building is a technological feat, offering all functionalities to guarantee an efficient service. In addition to a large number of offices, it comprises several spaces that are specific to the police, such as interview and interrogation rooms, sports and training spaces and a detention zone. Here, the most modern safety technologies were implemented. Also, a large part of the building has an impressive glass façade that does not only offer plenty of daylight, but a spectacular view of the city of Antwerp as well. That way, a pleasant and flexible work environment is created for its users.

The PPP project was awarded by AG Vespa, the autonomous municipal company for real estate and urban projects in Antwerp, to the consortium Post X LPA in 2017. It concludes the design, build, financing and maintenance for 25 years. BESIX was the only EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) contractor of the consortium. After a full restructuring of all key contractual agreements, BESIX took over all of the shares in 2020, turning the project into the biggest PPP for BESIX in Belgium.

The Post X LPA consortium consists of a multidisciplinary team with, in addition to BESIX as the contractor, among others, Stéphane Beel Architects and Jaspers-Eyers & Partners (architects), VK Engineering (technical design office), Stedec NV (engineering for stability) and Equans (maintenance).

This project demonstrates the ability of BESIX to support public authorities from A to Z in the realisation of their vision. The DBFM formula, as well as the extensive expertise and experience present in BESIX, enabled the company to already take on a steering role in the design phase. That way, an optimalised solution was found that entirely answers to the client’s wishes.

The biggest challenge of the project was undoubtedly to make sure that all subcontractors adhered to the strict planning. Moreover, the site’s urban environment lead to limited storage space on-site, because of which the delivery of materials required a just-in-time management approach. Good coordination was thus key. To navigate this coordination, the site team implemented the LEAN methodology. This approach focuses on collaboration and communication, and strongly engages all parties involved in the works. All project and site managers gathered once a week to discuss the planning and to identify, and avoid, possible clashes. This optimalised the progress of the works and guaranteed maximum continuity on site.

After the built of their new headquarters was finished at the end of last year, the Antwerp Police Force gradually started moving in as from May. This summer, already 1,000 police officers were working at their new workplace. By the end of October, all officers will have moved. In total, more than 2,200 employees will be working in the new building.

Moving into their new office is an important step for the Antwerp Police Force, as the building centralises all policy implementation and supporting agencies of the Antwerp Police.