CNR (Compagnie Nationale du Rhône) formalized, on December 20, the composition of the new sub-concessionaire group of the river port of Arles for the next 25 years.
The CCI du Pays d'Arles (35%), NGE Concessions (35%), the Banque des Territoires (15%), the Caisse d'Epargne (10%) and the Compagnie Fluviale de Transport (5%) will be responsible for modernize port infrastructure to increase the annual traffic of goods transiting by the river and the rail network by 25% by 2029.
Boosting river and rail freight traffic
Located 50 kilometers from the maritime coast of Marseille Fos, the public port of Arles is the southernmost port on the Mediterranean-Rhône-Saône axis. 350,000 tonnes of freight are processed there on average each year, 95% transported by river transport. These are mainly forestry, agricultural and metallurgical products, raw minerals, construction materials, and a marginal share of containers and heavy packages. The port of Arles is the only one in the Rhône valley with the capacity to accommodate river-sea barges of 2,700 tonnes of goods. These boats, which navigate at sea as well as on the river, transport a load equivalent to that of a hundred trucks on the A7, and can directly connect Arles and Lyon while avoiding the transshipment of goods in a seaport. By entrusting the sub-concession of the public port to the group led by the CCI du Pays d'Arles and NGE Concessions, CNR has the ambition to increase by 25% the mass annual flows handled by the port by 2029. The objective: to reach 450,000 tonnes of river freight per year by this time and double current rail traffic to bring it to 20,000 tonnes. To achieve this, the consortium will be able to rely in particular on the historical knowledge of the CCI, operator of the port for more than 40 years, and the expertise of the NGE group, 4th French player in construction, specialist in financing, design, construction and maintenance of large infrastructures, and concessionaire of several rail-road infrastructures.
11 million euros to modernize and re-equip port infrastructure
The winning group will invest 7 million euros, including 1 million provided by CNR, to modernize current port infrastructure, improve services to seafarers while improving the environmental record of the public port. With a surface area of 12 hectares, the plot sub-granted to the winning group offers two quays of 280 and 180 linear meters. It is connected to a 2-kilometer internal railway network, itself connected to the national rail network, and has nearly 5,000 m2 of covered storage space. The first tranche of investments will enable the group to modernize the docks, traffic routes and handling areas, and to build new storage platforms. Drinking water and electricity supply terminals will also be installed to improve the quality of service for boats at the dock and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
An additional 4 million euros will finally be invested by the CCI Pays d'Arles, operator of the site, to acquire 5 new goods handling machines: a mobile crane, a “spreader” for handling containers, a hydraulic excavator, a forklift and a mobile hopper.
Key figures for the Arles industrial and port site
55 hectares including 12 hectares sub-concession for the public port
4.25 meters: depth of the anchorage at the quayside
343,000 tonnes: annual river traffic handled by the public port
250 stops: annual river traffic
+ 300 trains: annual rail traffic
60: number of direct jobs
Landmark
A tonne of goods transported by river requires 4 times less energy than by road, and emits 3 to 4 times less greenhouse gases.
About CNR
CNR (Compagnie Nationale du Rhône) is the leading French producer of 100% renewable electricity with an installed capacity of more than 4,000 MW. CNR transforms the energy of the water of the Rhône, for which it has held the concession since 1934, and exploits the energy of the wind and the sun with 120 wind and photovoltaic parks across the country. This activity as an energy company allows it to finance its two other historical missions – the management and development of river transport and the irrigation of agricultural land – and its missions of general interest (Plans 5Rhône). CNR is the only general interest public limited company in France. Its capital is mainly public (183 local authorities and public establishments, Caisse des Dépôts group) with ENGIE as the leading industrial shareholder. The Rhône Development law of February 28, 2022 extended the CNR concession until 2041.
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