Floating reception centre to provide shelter for 250 asylum seekers in Ghent

Floating reception centre to provide shelter for 250 asylum seekers in Ghent
The reception centre, which will dock in the north sea port of Ghent, is scheduled to open in December. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

The Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers have announced a plan to open a temporary reception centre in Ghent for 250 asylum seekers in December 2019.

The centre, a floating reception facility, will be moored at the Rigakaai wharf in Ghent, at the North Sea Port and will have 40 employees, the agency explained in a press release.

The reception facility will be modelled on a similar centre that was set up during the refugee crisis in 2015 and operated by a private partner. This time around, however, the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Fedasil) will operate the facility.

Fedasil are working closely with the City of Ghent to prepare for the arrival of the centre. The first residents are anticipated to arrive sometime in early December.

The reception centre will provide medical assistance and social support to asylum seekers during the process of their applications for asylum.

There will be an information session on 4 November jointly hosted by Fedasil and the City of Ghent to provide more detailed information to Ghent residents.

Evie McCullough

The Brussels Times


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