Haropa Port, France's leading port, has entrusted a consortium encompassing VINCI Construction (62%, via its subsidiary Terélian, the lead contractor) and DEME (38%, a Belgian company in which VINCI holds a 12.1% stake) with building La Chatière1, a river link to Port 2000 in Le Havre (Normandy).
The €183 million contract entails building a 1,800-metre river channel protected by an embankment. When it opens in 2027, the channel will provide a direct connection between Port 2000 and the Seine river basin, France's largest job and consumer market. Direct river access to the port will lower carbon emissions in logistics chains, enhance safety and increase the number of containers travelling by river.
This elaborate seaside project includes a preliminary phase – clearing unexploded ordnances, a job requiring an extensive array of skills – and the consortium will also enlist several other VINCI Construction subsidiaries including Océlian (maritime works), Navarra TS and Cardem Pyro (both for soil remediation).
This new project confirms VINCI Construction's long-standing reputation for expertise in port development. In France, VINCI Construction companies recently upgraded La Cotinière fishing port (south-west France) and Brest commercial port (Brittany), and are currently developing the marina at Porto-Vecchio (Corsica), extending the commercial port at Port-la-Nouvelle (south-east France) and fitting onshore power supplies for cruise ships on three berths at Le Havre for Haropa Port in synergy with VINCI Energies.
1 The La Chatière project is financed by the Normandy region, French government, European Union (via the Connecting Europe Facility) and Haropa Port, and is aimed at enhancing multimodality while decarbonising transport on the Seine river corridor.
