The Belgian government has decided that the nuclear power plant in Doel will be closed in 2025. This intention is followed suspiciously by the residents of Bergen op Zoom in The Netherlands. This town is just across the border. Belgium cannot meet its needs for electricity without the power plant. There are regular and reoccurring “calamities” in the plant, like leaks in cooling systems, which often force the plant to be shut down.
In the meantime, the village itself has become a ghost town, bought by the Antwerp Port Authority. Sandwiched between the nuclear power plant on one side and a container terminal on the other, it’s stuck. About twenty residents still live in the village. The demolition was planned for 2030, but it is now uncertain whether those plans will continue or not. Port of Antwerp is growing less quickly than expected, which means that there are less needs for extra space than expected.