Green light for the Port 2000 river access channel project

On Friday, 29 March 2024, the Administrative Court in Rouen dismissed a summary motion to suspend work on the river access channel in Le Havre.

This means that HAROPA PORT can continue the preparatory work for the embankment to secure and expand river barge access to Port 2000.

In the ruling issued, the Administrative Court in Rouen dismissed the motion seeking the suspension of application of the government’s official order of 19 June 2023 authorizing the start of work on the channel.

The Court stated that “at the current stage in proceedings, none of the arguments put forward [by the applicants] is such as to justify serious doubts as to the legality of the contested order. Consequently, their conclusions arguing for suspension of the application of said order must be dismissed, without need for a ruling on the matter of urgency.”

“I am delighted with this ruling by the Administrative Court in Rouen. It allows us to continue the work we have begun on the creation of a direct river access to Port 2000, subject to adherence to the commitments given to the national council for the protection of nature,” said Stéphane Raison, CEO and chair of the board of management of HAROPA PORT.

The structure involved comprises a river channel 1,800 meters in length protected by an embankment that will provide a direct connection between Port 2000 and the Seine basin, France’s largest employment and consumer catchment area.

The preparatory work for the construction of the embankment commenced at the beginning of this year. Completion will take nearly two years.