The Julianakanaal, part of the Maasroute thoroughfare to ports in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, opened for business for the first time in eight months on Friday.

In the final phase of a major renovation project, infrastructure agency Rijkwaterstaat had built a temporary dam to drain the water from a 4-kilometre stretch between Berg aan de Maas and the sluice at Born to enable machines to widen the canal walls.

The dam has now been partly demolished, letting in enough water to enable freighters to pass.

The project to widen and deepen the canal has taken 12 years in total, twice as long as originally planned. The Julianakanaal will now be able to accommodate larger ships of up to 190 metres in length and 11.4 metres wide.