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CREATION OF NEW "CAP 2020" PORT DOCKS: JACQUES ARCHIMBAUD APPOINTED CHAIR OF SPECIAL COMMITTEE IN CHARGE OF PUBLIC CONSULTATION
16th january 2017

With traffic volumes due to double by 2030, the trade in containerised goods is now the fastest-growing sector in shipping to Europe.

On the worldwide scale for this market, 75% of the trade with the North Range, which extends from Le Havre to Hamburg, is currently handled by the ports of Antwerp, Rotterdam and Hamburg, despite Dunkirk's advantages for shipping and its outstanding strategic location at the entrance to the North Sea.

Several ports have already begun to develop new container terminals on dedicated sites for the reception, handling and forwarding of this growing traffic, which generates high economic added value and boosts local employment.

The need for a new container investment in northern France was put forward logically in a Parliamentary report submitted to the Prime Minister on 18 July 2016 (written by Jérôme Bignon and René Vandierendonck). The creation of new container terminals in Dunkirk is fully in line with the concept of European corridors, as well as with the challenge of sector diversification in the port of Dunkirk.

To meet this need, the "CAP 2020" investment project plans the creation of new terminals (quays and docks) equipped and adapted for handling containerised goods from the world's major markets.

These terminals, currently being planned, will be accessible to the largest ships, will have storage yards dimensioned to the highest international standards, and will provide efficient multimodal connections to their distribution area (railway lines, sea-river links and roads).

The project will also include the development of dedicated logistics and industrial parks capable of supporting this traffic.

The construction will take place in well-planned, gradual phases, linked to the ongoing development of commercial and economic activities.

Another focus of the project will be that of sustainable development, notably by upstream definition of the appropriate measures for environmental protection and the social integration of this development.  

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque has conducted a programme of environmental, technical and socio-economic studies about the CAP 2020 project, to ensure that all aspects of the development meet the objectives defined above.

In view of the size of the project and the issues at stake, in December 2016 the CNDP (National Public Consultations Commission) decided to organise a Public Consultation, giving everyone the opportunity to be informed about the project and express their opinion while it is still in the planning stage.

On 4 January 2017 the CNDP appointed its Vice-Chair Jacques Archimbaud as Chair of the Special Committee in charge of coordinating the Public Consultation on the CAP 2020 project, based on the studies carried out by Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque.

Following this Public Consultation, which is scheduled for 2017, Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque will be in a position to decide on the implementation of the CAP 2020 project.

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