Clément Beaune inaugurates the reactivation of a waterway between France and Belgium, with his Belgian counterpart Philippe Henry, Minister of Climate and Infrastructure of Wallonia, on November 30, 2023 in Fresnes-sur-Escaut, in the North (AFP/FRANCOIS LO PRESTI)
The Minister for Transport Clément Beaune, who symbolically inaugurated on Thursday the reactivation of a waterway between France and Belgium, stressed that the Seine-Nord canal project was now a “reality”, being almost “completed”. financially.”
Accompanied by his Belgian counterpart Philippe Henry, Minister of Climate and Infrastructure of Wallonia, Mr. Beaune visited a lock on the Condé-Pommeroeul canal, closed to navigation for 31 years, and which is due to reopen at the end of 2023.
This 11 km long section is one of the three major outlets of the Seine-Escaut corridor to the large river networks of Northern Europe.
According to Mr. Beaune, this “small piece in a very large project” nevertheless represents “a major investment of 80 million euros”. “This is an essential step which shows that the Seine-Nord Europe canal project is today a reality” and that it is “financially complete”, added Mr. Beaune.
“There are still a few hundred million to find but all the funding is there, all the work is progressing, and on time,” underlined the French minister.
The reactivation of the Condé-Pommeroeul canal should allow boats carrying up to 3,000 tonnes of goods to have a direct link between the large French and Belgian networks, significantly reducing their journey time.
In planning for several years and repeatedly postponed, the Seine-Nord canal, 107 kilometers long, must link Compiègne (Oise) to Aubencheul-au-Bac (North). It must constitute the missing link between the Seine and the river network of Northern Europe and allow a continuous link for goods between the Benelux countries and the Paris region. It should cost 5.1 billion euros, according to the organization leading the project.
In June, the European Commission confirmed its support for the Seine-Nord Europe Canal project by providing it with a subsidy of 506.2 million euros, out of the 2.1 billion euros in expected European funding.
© 2023 AFP
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