The ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the Lingang Overseas Zeebrugge Modern Industrial Park in the Belgian port of Zeebrugge was held on Wednesday. [Zhou Yuchao/For China Daily]

The first phase of the project covers 15 hectares of land, where Lingang will build 76,000 square meters of logistics warehouses and 22,000 square meters of container yard. With an investment of 50 million euros ($59 million), it is expected to be completed by August 2022.

Yang Jing, Lingang Group's chief financial officer, attended the ceremony. She expressed that demand for the logistics warehouses has been very strong, including from some e-commerce giants.

Lingang Group also has plans to develop another 15 hectares of land for the second phase of the project, which will include 90,000 square meters of logistics warehouses.

The whole project will be developed in cooperation with Cosco Shipping Ports (CSP). Cosco acquired the APM deep-sea container terminal in Zeebrugge in 2017 with the aim of turning it into a Northern European hub.

Wednesday's ceremony came after the Port of Zeebrugge and Port of Antwerp reached an agreement in February for a merger into the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, making it one of Europe's major ports.

Bruges Mayor Dirk De fauw, who is also chairman of Port of Zeebrugge, said that he is very pleased Lingang has chosen Zeebrugge for the major project.

While praising Zeebrugge for having all the capabilities to play a leading role in deep-sea port services, he also applauded the Chinese partners.

Guests celebrate at the laying of the foundation stone for the Lingang Overseas Zeebrugge Modern Industrial Park in the Belgian port of Zeebrugge on Wednesday. [Zhou Yuchao/For China Daily]

"They manage more than 7 square kilometers of distribution zones in the Shanghai region and bring with them the know-how and experience to attract world players to Zeebrugge," he said.

"I am convinced that this logistics platform will considerably strengthen our economic position, both globally and in the region," he added.

China's Ambassador to Belgium Cao Zhongming praised the Belgian partners in the Flanders region for their cooperation in the project.

"China has always attached great importance to extensive and pragmatic cooperation with Flanders. We appreciate the rigorous, pragmatic, innovative spirits and global vision of Flemish enterprises, and China is ready to work with you to further tap into the business potential between the two sides," he said in a video message recorded for the ceremony.