The canal will link these two major economic centres with the Benelux countries and the chain of 7 maritime ports between Le Havre and Rotterdam. The goal is of course to roll out a multimodal transport network by creating logistics hubs alongside the canal, providing connections with road and rail networks. The reliability of river transport, its safety, its ability to serve city centres without the inconvenience caused by road haulage and the lower costs it can offer by mass transport will make the Seine-Northern Europe Canal a powerhouse for economic development in these regions.

In terms of traffic, between 13.3 and 15 million tonnes of goods will be transported along the Seine-Scheldt link in 2020, tripling total traffic along this north-south route. Faced with the saturated roads of Benelux and northern Europe, it will provide an opportunity to transfer 4.5 billion tonne-kilometres from road to waterway by 2020 (representing between 250,000 and 300,000 tonnes less CO2 per year).

The Seine-Northern Europe Canal is also the central link in the European "Seine-Scheldt" route being developed in partnership with the Flanders and Wallonia regions of Belgium and selected as one of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T).

For further information: www.seine-nord-europe.com