New canal for freight

WORK has started on the plan for a new 106 kilometres canal for the movement of freight—but alas, not in England but across France.

The scheme is to construct a vast corridor for freight from  Havre to Benelux, upgrading the existing Seine & Nord Canal, Roger Fox tells us.

No delay

Using the existing waterway will mean that there will be no delay, and it is expected that the final bids from the two possible contractors will be received this coming Autumn.

By the end of the year the actual construction will start in earnest with the signing of the agreement between the stakeholders, though preparatory work is already underway, that includes several areas of archaeological excavations, that are causing no problems.

Missing link

Completion of the project, which will be the missing link between the Seine and the river system of northern Europe, is planned for 2016-2017, at a cost of 4.2 billion Euros.

This will be a combined public and private partnership, that is expected to generate 45,000 jobs by 2050, half of which are in the Nord/Pas-de-Calais and Picardy regions