Brussels moves one step closer to its future outdoor public swimming pool as the Abattoirs project is officially launched.
As we announced in our previous article about the Abattoirs outdoor swimming pool project, the project has now reached a decisive milestone. The Brussels-Capital Government has officially approved the launch of the public procurement process for the future outdoor swimming pool, which will be built on the roof of the Manufakture, the new building currently under construction at the Abattoirs site in Anderlecht.
This decision represents a significant step forward for a project that has been eagerly awaited for several years, especially since the Brussels-Capital Region has been without a public outdoor swimming pool following the closure of Flow in 2025.
An outdoor swimming pool on the roof of Manufakture
The future swimming pool will be located on the roof of Manufakture, a large food market and production hub currently under construction at the Abattoirs site in Anderlecht.
The Brussels government has approved the launch of a DBFMO (Design, Build, Finance, Maintain & Operate) public procurement procedure. Under this public-private partnership, a private operator will be responsible for designing, building, financing, maintaining and operating the future facility.
According to Brussels Secretary of State for Urban Renewal Ans Persoons (Vooruit), the project represents a new way of designing public infrastructure by combining urban renewal, climate adaptation and the efficient use of existing urban spaces.
A pool heated using waste heat from the building
One of the project’s most innovative features is its sustainable energy approach.
The pool water will be heated using waste heat recovered from the activities taking place inside the Manufakture building. This solution will significantly reduce the pool’s energy consumption while making productive use of heat that would otherwise be wasted.
The project therefore embraces the principles of the circular economy, integrating sustainability into the very design of the infrastructure.
A response to increasingly frequent heatwaves
As heatwaves become more frequent, providing accessible places where residents can cool off has become an important public health issue.
For Ans Persoons, the future swimming pool is intended to address this growing need:
“With this new swimming pool, we are bringing outdoor swimming back as an essential public facility in our city. It is a necessity, because every resident of Brussels should be able to find an accessible place to cool down, relax and enjoy public space during periods of extreme heat. We are therefore creating a swimming pool that is open to everyone.”
Brussels still without an outdoor public swimming pool
Since the closure of the Océade water park in 2018 and the temporary Flow outdoor pool in 2025, the Brussels-Capital Region has had no public outdoor swimming pool.
During the summer months, Brussels residents must travel to provincial recreational domains in Flanders or Wallonia, or to one of the few authorised open-water swimming areas located just outside the capital, such as the IJsevijver in Overijse.
If completed, the Anderlecht project would become Brussels’ first permanent public outdoor swimming pool in many years.
Construction is not expected before 2029
Despite this important milestone, Brussels residents will still need to be patient.
The launch of the public procurement process is only the first stage of a procedure that will take several years. The contract is expected to be awarded in 2028, with construction scheduled to begin in 2029.
If the current timetable is respected, Brussels could finally regain a permanent outdoor public swimming pool—an amenity that many residents have been calling for over the past several years.
The Manufakture project is currently the most advanced of all outdoor swimming initiatives under consideration in the Brussels-Capital Region. After years of studies, announcements and political discussions, the official launch of the procurement process marks the first concrete step towards making this long-awaited public swimming pool a reality.
