A company in Seraing is taking legal action against the Wallonia Transport Operator (OTW) following the decision by the Walloon government to abandon plans for the Liège tram extension towards Seraing.
Pro-Mat, a Seraing-based company specialising in the sale of construction materials, claims it suffered from two years of indecision by the Walloon government regarding the tram extension plans. The company’s managers say they faced several expropriation notices that caused difficulties for the business between June 2022 and August 2024, when the current government decided to halt the tram extension project.
The company has initiated a civil legal case, seeking €2 million in compensation, with the court hearing scheduled for 26 June.
According to lawyer Me Bortolotti, representing Pro-Mat, “This amount, estimated by an enterprise auditor, reflects Pro-Mat’s potential value if it hadn’t been hindered by the expropriation process.”
In June 2022, the OTW informed Pro-Mat that it would be expropriated because its rented buildings were located on the proposed tram extension route. The demolition was postponed five times, leaving the company unsuccessful in finding relocation options. “Due to consecutive delays, we continued operations, investing despite losses, spending €230,000 on spaces we couldn’t use due to impending threats,” explained Suleyman Bagci, one of Pro-Mat’s managers. He added that the uncertainty endangered the business, complicating banking relations and depleting stock levels while ensuring creditors were paid.
The company asserts its right to pursue compensation in light of what it describes as “silence” from the OTW, which denies any wrongdoing since no expropriation occurred.
