- Construction cost of €726 million
- Works will last until 2031
- Total transformation with focus on safe mobility, bicycle traffic and environment
Last Monday, May 27, 2024, all parties involved in the R4WO project gathered in Ghent for the official and festive start of the works. Flemish Ministers Lydia Peeters and Matthias Diependaele both spoke on the occasion, along with delegates from De Werkvennootschap, the BRAVO4 consortium, the City of Ghent and the municipalities of Evergem and Wachtebeke. BRAVO4 is now starting preparatory works on and alongside the R4 West and East. The works on the conversion itself will start in August 2025: 22 (intersection) points on and along the R4. According to the current schedule, the works will be completed by early 2031. The total project with a construction cost of €726 million is focusing not only on bicycle and road traffic, but also on nature and landscape.
The Flemish Ministers for Mobility and Public Works responded with satisfaction: “This is a major milestone for us as the Flemish Government: this Public-Private Partnership will drastically improve liveability and mobility in the Ghent port area. It is the second largest construction site in Flanders, after Oosterweel. We are therefore attaching great importance to the symbolic breaking of the ground that is taking place today. As a through road, the R4 is very important for the Ghent port area. R4WO has already shown good solutions for truck and car traffic with the large turbo roundabout. The plans are extremely promising for safe and smooth mobility between the port, the residential areas and the surrounding areas. For cyclists, the intersections are mainly unsafe at the moment. The construction of intersections at different levels will save local traffic and cyclists from crossing paths with the fast and heavy traffic. The cycle bridges and cycle passages will branch into separated cycle paths and cycle highways, which makes cycling not only much safer in the area, but also much more pleasant. A very positive development.”
The Flemish Finance and Budget Minister is also positive: “The construction cost of €726 million (excluding VAT) for improved mobility and livability on and around the R4 is large, but crucial for this area. This Public-Private Partnership, in which we, as the Flemish government, sought and found a private consortium in BRAVO4, will ensure that this private partner will be responsible for the design, build, finance and maintenance until 30 years after handover of the project. The Flemish government then pays an availability fee to the private partner during those 30 years. This formula makes it possible to carry out large projects like this one without it weighing too heavily on our budget. Consider, for example, the A11 between Bruges and Westkapelle, which was also implemented as a PPP. I am very proud that in Flanders we can still achieve these kinds of large-scale projects.”
Together for a safer port area
The new R4 will connect environment, people and nature. The project will make traffic on the R4 smoother and safer, and the surrounding neighbourhoods quieter and more accessible. On the western side, this concerns the section of the R4 between the N9 in Wondelgem and the E34 in Zelzate, and on the eastern side from the ‘Eurosilo’ intersection in Oostakker to Wachtebeke. With this conversion, the Flemish government is investing in smoother and safer road traffic with liveable residential areas and safe and comfortable cycle paths.
The project is a major investment (construction cost of €726 million excluding VAT) in liveability on and around the R4. In the future, the number of slip roads will decrease and motorised traffic will drive to the main intersections. New bridges, tunnels and underpasses will allow local traffic to pass under or over the R4. This ensures smoother traffic flow and less chance of dangerous situations between road users. It will also make the connection between residential areas on either side of the R4 a lot safer.
The bridges and underpasses will become part of the public space for many years. A beautiful and functional design that blends into its surroundings was therefore chosen.
BRAVO4 consortium at the helm
The cooperation between De Werkvennootschap and the BRAVO4 consortium for the R4WO project had already been officially established on 7 May 2024 with the ‘contract close’ and ‘financial close’. That happened after the Flemish Government approved the agreement on 22 March 2024. In summer 2021, the BRAVO4consortium was named as the preferred bidder. The consortium is made up of BESIX, EPICo, I4B – The Belgian Infrastructure Fund, RID PPP and Stadsbader. They submitted a bid with the best value for money to carry out the DBFM contract. As of now, BRAVO4 is in charge of the conversion of the R4 East and West north of Ghent via a DBFM: design (Design), build (Build), finance package (Finance) and maintenance for 30 years (Maintain) are being entrusted to BRAVO4 in an integrated manner.
Comment from Günther Muyshondt, BRAVO4 Project Director: “BESIX, EPICo, I4B – The Belgian Infrastructure Fund, RID PPP (Rebel and Abrdn) and Stadsbader are proud to launch this project together with De Werkvennootschap. R4WO stands for connection: by ensuring safe traffic, we connect neighbourhoods, communities, people and nature. As a consortium, we are putting our full weight behind this vision. There will be intense work in the coming years, but the result will be a safer, more easily accessible and more sustainable R4 environment.”
De Werkvennootschap (the Flemish Government organisation that supports large and complex mobility projects) and BRAVO4 (the consortium chosen to carry out the works) will start the actual works for the R4 West and East conversion in 2024. This Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is different from a traditional tender. The BRAVO4 consortium is financing the project itself and will receive an availability fee from the Flemish government for 30 years. This allows the government to select a party on more qualitative criteria, such as design ownership, execution techniques, life-cycle approach, mitigation measures and environmental management.
