Two ports, one aim

New sub-concessions for the inland ports of Arles and Lyon combine public and private forces to strengthen the Rhône-Saône corridor. Their focus, presented at Sitl in Paris, is on sustainability, intermodality and the ability to compete.

Photo: Andreas Haug

Two landmark decisions concerning the Rhône-Saône corridor were taken by the inland ports of Arles and Lyon, which are positioning themselves for a multimodal and sustainable logistics future. The Compagnie nationale du Rhône (CNR) has awarded new sub-concessions for both sites – in Arles for 25 years, in Lyon for 30 years.

In Arles, the Chamber of Commerce of the Pays d’Arles (CCIPA) is once again taking over operations, but this time in an extended consortium with NGE Concessions, Banque des Territoires, Caisse d’Épargne Cepac and Compagnie fluviale de transport.

Strengthen the intermodal shift as the economic heart of the region

The partners plan to invest approximately EUR 7 million over the next two years. The aim is to comprehensively modernise the port – including infrastructure for rainwater treatment, washing facilities, new electricity and water connections and video security systems.

“The CCI wants to make the port a real lever for the economic development of the entire region – in the service of the ecological transition and also of the intermodal shift,” emphasised Stéphane Paglia, the president of the CCIPA.

Jean Bernadet, the president of NGE, also underlined the fact that “our teams will accompany the port for 25 years and strengthen it as the economic heart of the region.”

“Crucial for logistics in France”

In Lyon, a consortium led by CMA CGM has prevailed. In addition to the maritime logistics giant, the Banque des Territoires, the CCI Lyon Métropole Saint-Étienne Roanne and the CCI Aix-Marseille-Provence are involved.

The partners will be in charge of developing and operating the container terminal at the port of Édouard Herriot. Investments of around EUR 40 million are planned to expand the annual terminal capacity to 230,000 teu by 2028, and to promote rail and inland waterway transport.

“We want to double container traffic on the river by 2032,” said Philippe Valentin, president of CCI Lyon Métropole. CMA CGM sees the project as a central strategic building block to promote intermodality.

“We’re convinced that river and rail transport are competitive alternatives that go easier on the environment – and that are crucial for the future of logistics in France,” said CMA CGM vice-president Christine Cabau-Woehrel.

Not an April Fool’s joke in any way

At Sitl, the French logistics trade fair staged in Paris at the beginning of April, Philippe Alix, the intermodal director of CMA CGM, described his company’s commitment to Lyon, the heart of France’s most important industrial region, as “ambitious”.

Christophe Castaner commented on the official start date with a wink. The president of the port of Marseilles, the home of the French shipping line with global activities, said that even for 1 April, the expansion from the metropolis on the Mediterranean to the competing city in the hinterland was good news for all involved.

This may be because both projects on the Rhône follow a clear line. They promote the modal shift, reduce emissions and strengthen the role of the Rhône-Saône axis as the backbone of sustainable freight transport between the Mediterranean region and its hinterlands.