Funding will determine building of French canal

Plans to build the 107km so called “Seine-Nord” waterway would allow large barges to sail from Paris to the harbours of Antwerp and Rotterdam and reduce motorway traffic, but the government’s announcement has now cast doubt over whether the €4.5bn project will go ahead.

“The Seine-Nord Canal is a long-awaited project … and its importance is not being put into question, but nobody can ignore that the financing has not been finalised,” junior minister Brune Poirson, speaking for environment minister Nicolas Hulot and transport minister Elisabeth Borne, told parliament.

2023 completion date

France’s previous government indicated it would begin building the canal this year with the aim of completing it by 2023. It had discussed funding with regional governments and the European Union.

Ms Poirson said the new government led by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, formed in May this year, intended not to promise initiatives that cannot be financed and that infrastructure projects promised by previous governments had a funding gap of about €10bn.

“We need to find pragmatic and sustainable solutions for each of these projects,” Ms Poirson stressed.

She confirmed the transport ministry would organise a public consultation to investigate the needs of all France’s regions and the available funding.

She stated: “What will be imperative is that we bring in line the needs with the resources.”

By Rebecca Jeffrey