Laying the Foundation Stone for Calais Port 2015

26 September 2016

The first symbolic stone of Calais Port 2015 was laid on Monday, September 26, 2016 in the presence of Francois Hollande, President of the French Republic, Xavier Bertrand, President of the Hauts-de-France Regional Council, Natacha Bouchart, Mayoress of Calais, Jean-Marc Puissesseau, President of the Strait Ports Operating Company (SEPD), Patrick Vandevoorde, President of the Strait Ports Company (SPD) and Philipe Bonnave, CEO of Bouygues Construction.

Conceived in 2002, at the initiative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Calais, then the concession holder for the Port with major support from the Hauts-de-France Regional Council, Calais Port 2015 has now entered its implementation phase. As the largest priority shipping infrastructure of the European Union, the project will double the current capacity of the port of Calais. Designed to anticipate and adapt to the forecast growth in traffic, this new infrastructure also prepares the Port of Calais for the logistic and industrial needs of tomorrow.

Mr Jean-Marc Puissesseau (on the left), President of the Société d’Exploitation des Ports de Détroit and M. François Holland, (on the rigtht)  President of the French Republic.

Laying the foundation stone for Calais Port 2015 is the symbol of a visionary project and the backbone for genuine economic drive in the Hauts-de-France region with an investment of over € 863 million and the creation of 2,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs.

On this occasion and to officially launch the construction site, the main partners in the project signed a symbolic deed which was then sealed inside a concrete X-block, an emblematic component of the construction site mainly used to build the future breakwater.

Building Today the Cross-Channel Port of Tomorrow

The flagship of French ports, the largest port in continental Europe for passenger transport, the 4th largest French port for goods, but also the 2nd largest Roll-on/Roll-off port in Europe, the port of Calais welcomes 10 million passengers, 2 million lorries and 41.5 million tonnes of cargo per year. It had to absorb the forecast growth in Channel traffic, which was the challenge that Calais Port 2015 is designed to meet

Expected to last six years, the Calais Port 2015 construction site will enable the port of Calais to adapt to future port issues and strengthen its position as market leader, in particular by creating a new 90-hectare harbour basin and an emblematic seawall over three kilometres long. In the first phase, three new ferry berths will also be created and a Roll-on/Roll-off loading station, scheduled for commissioning in 2021. These new facilities will be scalable as new business activities emerge, enabling the port of Calais to remain on the leading edge of global standards. The work will be carried out by a consortium made up of specialized business units of the Bouygues group, Spie Batignolles and Jan de Nul.

Sustainability issues integrated into the project as of the design stage

Eco-designed Calais Port 2015 also meets the commitments in terms of the preservation local flora and fauna taken by the Hauts-de-France Regional Council during the public enquiry and before the National Council for the Protection of Nature.

The scheduling in particular has been specifically implemented to avoid interventions that disturb fauna during breeding and migration periods, and to preserve nesting areas suitable for birds.

Public-Private funding of € 863 million

The financing for the project of € 863 million has been provided by the Strait Ports Company (SPD), owned by the French long-term investment fund Meridiam (40%), the French Consignments and Loans Fund CDC (40%) the Opal Coast Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Northern France Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry (19%) and the Port of Dunkerque (1%).

Apart from the shareholders who have contributed € 89 million in equity and quasi-equity capital, three major financial partners are involved in the project: AllianzGI (which has underwritten a bond issue for € 504 million on behalf of the Allianz Group and third-party investors), the European Investment Bank, and Crédit Agricole Corporate Investment. Public funds amounted meanwhile to € 270 million, pre-financed in full by the Hauts-de-France Regional Council (including € 98.6 million from the European Union).

With an investment of 863 million euros, the project is one of the main French investment projects and will generate significant economic benefits for all the regions and local authorities on the Opal Coast.

Download the press release

Calais Port 2015 video

If you want some pictures of the project, do not hesitate to contact us :

PRESS CONTACTS

PORT OF BOULOGNE CALAIS
Isabelle Fauquet
Tel: +33 (0)7 85 54 04 47
isabelle.fauquet@portboulognecalais.fr

Xavier Decramer
Tel: +33 (0)6 04 67 36 46
calais@eurosagency.eu

HAUTS-DE-FRANCE REGIONAL COUNCIL
Peggy Colette
Tel: + 33 (0)6 75 93 38 28
peggy.collette@nordpasdecalaispicardie.fr

STRAITS PORT COMPANY
Luc Herchin
+33 (0)6 31 73 79 99
l.herchin@spd-calais.com

DESIGN-BUILD CONSORTIUM
Matthieu Carre
+33 (0)1 30 60 66 39
m.carre@bouygues-construction.com