On Thursday, the Walloon Government approved an investment of €9.39 million, intended in particular for the energy-efficiency refurbishment of the former Bois-du-Luc mining site in La Louvière
The site has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since July 2012.
More specifically, €6.4 million – of which €2.7 million comes from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) – will be allocated to reducing the site’s energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Just over €1.7 million – of which €698,000 comes from the ERDF – will be used to rehabilitate contaminated brownfield sites, whilst 1.25 million euros (of which €556,000 comes from the ERDF) will fund the development of several cycle paths.
The Bois-du-Luc mining site in Houdeng-Aimeries, La Louviere, Sunday 01 July 2012. Unesco recognised the mine sites of Bois-du-Luc, Grand-Hornu, Bois du Cazier and Blegny-Mine as world heritage. Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
Located not far from the four lifts on the Canal du Centre, which are also listed, the project is expected to attract more visitors to La Louvière, particularly to the Museum of Mining and Sustainable Development, which is situated on the site.
"We are not merely restoring a historic site. We are investing in a project that combines heritage, the energy transition, mobility and regional development. This is exactly what public investment should be: useful today and promising for the future," the Walloon government stated in a press release.
