Furnished Apartments Near Antwerp Port: What Companies Need to Know (2026)

Here is the first thing to understand about housing people who work at the Port of Antwerp: nobody lives at the port. The port area covers more than 120 square kilometres of terminals, chemical plants and locks. There are no apartments in it, no supermarkets, and after the evening shift change, almost no people. Every housing decision is really a commute decision.

We have placed engineers, turnaround crews and project managers around the port for two decades at Globexs, and this article covers what actually works: which districts to choose for which site, what it costs, the car question, and the timing traps around big maintenance shutdowns.

Why so many international workers end up here

The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is the second largest port in Europe and directly and indirectly supports around 160,000 jobs. Wrapped around the docks is the largest integrated petrochemical cluster in Europe. BASF's Antwerp site alone is its biggest production site after Ludwigshafen.

For housing purposes, what matters is the rhythm of the work. Chemical plants run planned maintenance shutdowns (turnarounds) that bring in hundreds of external specialists for 2 to 6 months. Construction and expansion projects bring teams for a year or more. Shipping and logistics companies rotate international staff through for 3 to 11 month assignments. Almost none of these people want an unfurnished flat with a 3-year Belgian lease. All of them want to be reasonably close to a gate, and each gate has a different answer.

The geography, in plain terms

The port stretches north from the city along both banks of the Scheldt.

Right bank (east side): most of the container terminals, many chemical plants, and the older dock areas closest to the city. If the site is on the right bank, house people in the north of Antwerp: Eilandje at the expensive end, Merksem and Ekeren in the middle, or the villages just north (Kapellen, Stabroek) for people who prefer quiet and have a car.

Left bank (west side): the Waaslandhaven, with major chemical sites and the newer container capacity. For left bank sites, Linkeroever and Zwijndrecht are the practical choices, and some crews prefer Sint-Niklaas, 15 minutes away by car with cheaper housing.

The two banks connect through tunnels, and this is where relocations go wrong. The Kennedy tunnel is jammed at every rush hour. The Liefkenshoek tunnel to the north is faster but tolled (plants often reimburse it, worth asking). Housing someone in the pleasant south of the city for a job at a left bank plant means fighting tunnel traffic twice a day. They will hate it by week three.

Realistic commute times

From our tenants' actual experience, door to gate by car:

• Eilandje to the older right bank docks: 10 to 20 minutes

• Merksem or Ekeren to right bank terminals: 15 to 30 minutes

• Linkeroever or Zwijndrecht to Waaslandhaven sites: 10 to 20 minutes

• City centre to the far northern terminals: 30 to 45 minutes, more during turnaround season when thousands of extra contractors are on the roads

Public transport is the honest weak point. De Lijn runs buses into the port, but frequencies do not match 6 am shift starts well, and evening options thin out fast. Several large employers run their own shuttles from park-and-ride points, and there is a shared water shuttle on some routes. The practical rule: if the employee has no car and the employer has no shuttle, tell your housing partner before choosing a location, not after.

What it costs

Furnished mid-term apartments, monthly, in the districts that make sense for port work:

• Merksem, Ekeren, Deurne-Noord: from €1,100 for a 1-bedroom

• Linkeroever and Zwijndrecht: from €1,100 to €1,300

• Eilandje (walkable to the city, views over the old docks): from €1,600

• Houses for crews sharing, northern districts: from €2,000 for 3 bedrooms

Utilities run €150 to €250 per month on top when not included. Parking is the hidden cost people forget: free and easy in Ekeren or Zwijndrecht, a paid permit hunt in Eilandje. If the whole team drives, that alone can decide the district.

One honest note: Merksem and Ekeren are not postcard Flanders. They are ordinary working districts with supermarkets, gyms and fast roads to the port. People who want café terraces and museums should look at Eilandje or accept a longer commute from the centre. We tell tenants this upfront because a mismatch of expectations causes more early departures than any defect in an apartment.

Turnaround season: the timing trap