Sweco and Arcadis are partners of a consortium responsible for planning and design of a large waterway for inland vessels up to 4,400 tonnes between France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Société du Canal Seine-Nord Europe is the client.

“We are very proud to be involved in an assignment to redesign European freight transport in a sustainable way,” says Erwin Malcorps, Managing Director Sweco Belgium.

The new canal in France will cover 107 kilometres between the Oise in Compiègne and the Dunkirk-Scheldt canal near Cambrai. A total of seven locks, three navigable aqueducts and 61 bridges will be built. Work is expected to start in 2022 and commissioning is planned in December 2028. The assignment of Sweco and Arcadis involves the sector between the French municipalities of Allaines and Etricourt-Mancourt.

The canal is of great economic importance for Europe as it will give a powerful boost to inland navigation between northern Europe and the Paris Basin. The canal is also expected to eliminate 15 to 20 percent of transport traffic on the Amsterdam–Paris axis.