Seine-Scheldt project
The Seine-Scheldt project aims to create a network of 1,100 km of large-gauge inland waterways connecting the Seine and Scheldt-Meuse river basins and linking the north-western European waterway network. The Seine-Scheldt project is the largest logistics and waterway development initiative in Europe in the first half of the 21st century.
Situated at the intersection of several European multimodal corridors, it creates a new gateway to Europe for the ports of Le Havre, Rouen, Dunkirk, Antwerp, Ghent and Zeebrugge over large gauge waterways. Finally, this gateway will connect the river, rail and road networks of the largest European production and consumption catchment areas.
The Seine-Scheldt network will run through a territory with several large cities, home to 40 million people, and will open up a sustainable for goods trade and passenger transport.
At the heart of the network is the 107 km Canal Seine-Nord Europe, the ‘missing link’ that, alongside the upgrade and modernisation of much of the existing network, will accelerate the modal shift in France, Flanders and Wallonia. This is urgently needed given the high levels of road traffic and the economic and ecological costs faced by these regions.
The Seine-Scheldt project will:
- Remove the missing links by completing the Seine-Nord Europe canal, reopening the cross-border Condé-Pommerœul canal, upgrading the Lys Mitoyenne cross border link and improving the performance of the existing northern and southern networks
- Remove inland waterway bottlenecks such as the crossing of Tournai by upgrading existing infrastructure to enable large-gauge navigation (at least Va class).
- Improve navigation conditions by ensuring the reliability and safety of the inland waterways and infrastructure, improving services to users and deploying remote control.
- Ensure an integrated management of the network at regional, national and trans-boundary level with regard to service level for the users.
The project also covers the development of a strategic framework to promote the full development of an alternative fuels infrastructure, to be implemented gradually and the implementation of integrated and efficient cross-border traffic and transport management services (including River Information Services, RIS), as well as the development of multimodal logistics platforms.
The project is coordinated by the French Ministry in close cooperation with Voies navigables de France (VNF), the Société du Canal Seine-Nord Europe (SCSNE), the Service Public de Wallonie (SPW) and De Vlaamse Waterweg nv (DVW).
The Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) supervises all issues associated with the preparation and completion of the Seine-Scheldt project and the implementation of actions funded by the Connecting Europe Facility on behalf of the governments of the French Republic, the Flemish Region of Belgium and the Walloon Region of Belgium. The European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG), comprising VNF (chair), SCSNE, DVW and SPW, studies and makes proposals to the governments regarding the coordination of project financing, programmes and timetables for completing the different sections of the network.
The implementation of the Seine-Scheldt project is supported by an Implementing Decision:
- adopted by the European Commission on 27 June 2019.
- which defines the reciprocal commitments of the stakeholders involved, the objectives and a timetable for action.
Download the Implementing Decision
