Work relates to the main, 89km stretch of the Seine-Nord Europe Canal (“CSNE” in French) after three local authorities granted environmental approval: the prefectures of the Oise, the Somme, the Pas-de-Calais and the Nord.

Planned since 2003, CSNE will be a high-capacity waterway connecting Compiègne on the RIver Oise to Aubencheul-au-Bac on the Canal de la Sensée, and to other European waterways.

1 barge = 400 trucks

When complete in 2030, it will carry barges up to 185m long and 11m wide that are able to carry the equivalent of 400 trucks-worth of cargo, potentially sparking a localised modal shift from roads back to canals.

With a breadth of 54m, it is wider than France’s congested Canal du Nord and so is intended to increase cargo flows while cutting road congestion and pollution.

The CSNE organisation says it will carry 17.4 million tonnes of cargo by 2035, and take a million trucks off French roads every year.

Work on an 18km section through the Oise valley began in 2022.

330ha of docks and ports

As well as excavations for the canal bed and the construction of viaducts, the canal will have seven locks, 62 road and rail crossings, and 10 transhipment docks.

There will also be four inland ports, located in Noyon, Nesle, Péronne, and Marquion-Cambrai. These will act as access points for the local economy to the Seine-Escaut network.

Together, the docks and ports will cover 330ha of terminals and business parks.

Altogether, the Seine-Nord Europe Canal is expected to cost €5.1 billion, to be met by France and the local prefectures, with help from the EU.

The state will fulfil its obligations with the help of an €800m loan, to be repaid with a national tax.