the port conference center will rise from the ground

The cranes have cleared the sea wall of the port of Nice. The construction of the “semi-permanent” structure which is to host the 3rd Ocean Summit in June 2025 will be able to start on January 6. We take stock.

It's over, it will no longer be possible to park facing the sea, in the car park, along the sea wall of the port of Nice. This is now a thing of the past, the last car left on September 2. Time for the future.

It's going to disfigure the port again. I signed a petition, but it was of no use.

A resident

at France 3 Côte d’Azur

The near future first. From June 9 to 13, the United Nations Ocean Conference will take place. After New York and Lisbon, it is on Nice soil that UN member states will make commitments to protect the oceans and their biodiversity for the years to come. At the end of this “super” conference, the Nice Ocean Agreements will be announced. Nearly 30,000 delegates will then have inaugurated the convention center at the port of Nice.

If the latter is well finished…

The deconstruction has just been completed, it was carried out in 2 stages. François Bertrand, general director of services for the city of Nice and the Nice Côte d'Azur Metropolis, explains: “First of all, we had to remove everything that was inside the storage areas and completely remove asbestos from the site. Then, we deconstructed the entire parking lot”. This generated 10,000 tonnes of rubble which will be entirely reused. A part will constitute the underlay on site, another will go to the Promenade du Paillon construction site, the rest will be sent to other construction sites in the Metropolis.

We found the natural terrain, we are 8 meters below the parking lot. We try to reuse everything (…) It's concrete, they're good materials in fact. The scrap metal will be remelted.

François Bertrand, Director General of Services for the city of Nice and the NCA Metropolis

at France 3 Côte d’Azur

He continues “We had a few surprises, we found some old pipes and some large concrete blocks weighing more than 20 tonnes, which we had to remove” “There is even the little black door which gives access to a underground which goes to below the Castle Hill It was documented, but it is rediscovered.”

Before the actual construction phase begins on January 6, the foundations must be finalized. The slab and networks must be in place. The first 2 buildings to rise from the ground will be the maritime station and the storage station. Then, will come the assembly of the large hall.

With the chosen construction process, most elements are constructed off-site, then transported and assembled on site. The general director of services explains: “this will allow very rapid construction (…) you have to imagine it like a Lego”.

On April 30, everything must be ready, because the area will be entirely developed by state services, in order to respect very important security constraints. As for possible disruptions in the neighborhood, François Bertrand wants to be reassuring: “there will not be much more disruption, we are already on a site where there are truck deliveries; the cement workers arrive regularly.”

The schedule is as follows:

• December 2024: Preparation of the platform, creation of networks and creation of foundations
• January -April 2025 : Assembly of structures
• Provision of the site to the State: April 30, 2025
• Configuration for the Ocean Summit by the State: from April 30 to June 3, 2025
• Configuration of the ferry terminal and event spaces: for fall 2025

The networks will include those of buildings, but also those which will accommodate “zero smoke stopovers”. The majority of maritime transport emissions are emitted when parking at quayside and in the reduced speed navigation zone at port entrances. A liner at dock consumes the equivalent of around 250 cars. (Between 500 and 2,000 liters per hour of diesel for an liner for 7 liters per hour on average for a car). With this project, ships will be able to plug into the port's electricity network, so that no engine is running when a boat is parked.

It is a legacy which from September will allow us to host both congress events which will feed the city's economy, but also a very large 2,200-seat performance hall.

Christian Estrosi, president of the Nice Côte d'Azur Metropolis

at France 3 Côte d’Azur

The city mayor also announces that the reservation book is filling up quickly. In September 2025, the Grand Pavois of La Rochelle will take place which, for the first time, will not take place on the edge of the Atlantic, but in the Mediterranean. It is an international boat show which can accommodate up to approximately 80,000 visitors; it is one of the 5 largest international boat shows afloat. In October, the tourism summit organized by Atout France will follow. “Around sixty requests are already being studied for the next 2 years” rejoices Christian Estrosi.

The Olympics will be here too! Because if Nice will only be the site of ice sports, for the next Winter Olympic Games, it has also been chosen by the Olympic committee to be the center of all the media centers which must ensure coverage of the event. For the Southern Alps, and the Northern Alps!