• This Thursday was the official inauguration of the new port of Calais.

  • The site lasted six years and cost 863 million euros.

  • The extension of the port area should allow the port to develop its economic activity.

“This is hard!

It will last a minimum of a hundred years ”.

For Jean-Marc Puissesseau, CEO of the Port of Calais, the extension of the city's port area offers an “exceptional tool”.

This Thursday was the official inauguration of the new port of Calais, in Pas-de-Calais.

A six-year project that cost 863 million euros.

"This infrastructure engages us serenely in the 21st century and offers new perspectives for the entire Hauts-de-France region", explains Jean-Marc Puissesseau, the man who has carried this ambition for fifteen years.

Concretely, what will that change for this port which enjoys a strategic position vis-à-vis England?

A new pier, three new bridges

The construction of the new port required the installation of a 3.2 km long jetty, making it possible to gain 45 ha (90 football fields) on the sea. Thus, Calais now has two ports: Calais-1, l 'older, and Calais-2 the better.

The three bridges, dedicated to freight and passenger transport, already made the city the 4th largest freight port in France and the 1st ro-ro in the European Union.

From October 5, three new gateways will be operational.

“But above all, the new port offers the possibility of building six more if necessary and at a lower cost,” argues Jean-Marc Puissesseau.

A tense economic context

It remains to attract shipping companies to develop economic activities because Calais 2 is entering the scene in a delicate situation.

Brexit has slowed down freight traffic and Covid-19 has reduced the tourist clientele with Great Britain by 75%.

"In fifty years, we will no longer remember the Covid-19, assures Jean-Marc Puissesseau.

Travelers will come back and we will be able to accommodate the ferries of the future, larger and less polluting.

"

As for freight, Benoît Rochet, deputy director of the port, is reassuring.

“The recovery is already being felt.

We observed an increase between July 2021 and July 2020. The shortest route remains the most efficient, ”he underlines, focusing in particular on technical innovations to welcome new markets.

A rail motorway terminal

These innovations are first of all the releasable hooks allowing the moorings of ships to be automatically attached to save 30% on transshipment time.

It is then the telecontrol walkways that will make the adjustment with the pontoons of the boats more efficient.

Finally, this large port of Calais now intends to dredge driverless trailer traffic, thanks to its new rail motorway terminal.

Unique equipment on a European scale.

“It's been ten years since we invested in piggyback transport, which is a market of the future,” announces Jean-Marc Puissesseau.

Trailers on trains and then in boats, rather than on the road, is better ”.

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