The new Seine-Nord will run close to the existing Canal du Nord, which is too narrow to take big barges, and will help reduce pollution and congestion on the country's roads. Announcing the plan, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said, 'For the first time, a government has decided that 75% of new infrastructure will be off the road.'

Initial studies for the waterway have begun and will take two years to complete. Digging will commence in 2006, with the first barges scheduled for travel in 2014.

Paris is hoping to secure EU funding for the canal, arguing that the Seine-Nord will link to canals in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

The last canal project in France intended to link the Rhine to the Rhone was abandoned by the Finance Ministry and fears remain that the Seine-Nord could suffer the same fate.

According to the Voies Navigables de France, which will oversee the project, the canal will accommodate barges up to 4,400 tonnes, each equivalent to 220 heavy goods vehicles.

Meanwhile, a new tri-modal hub is now fully operational at Dourges to replace the existing terminal of Lille Saint-Sauveur, which has reached capacity.

Delta 3 cost ? 46.5 million, jointly financed by 51% from the private sector and 49% from the state. A river dock on the HauteDeule canal has been built.

MJ Information No: 19434