After years of preparation, work on the Seine-Scheldt Canal in France has officially started. The new canal will be 107 kilometers long and will run between Cambrai and Compiègne. It must become a missing link in the European waterway network.
The project includes new locks and bridges. The lock in Oisy-le-Verger is one of the first major parts. That investment amounts to 315 million euros and should allow ships to bridge a height difference of 25 meters.
The canal must admit ships with loads of up to 4,400 tons. Europe wants to shift more freight transport from road to water.
“This is a missing link in the Seine-Scheldt network that we are going to fill. In this way, we connect the Scheldt and the Leie with the Seine and we can better organize freight transport via the waterway,” says Filip Boelaert of De Vlaamse Waterweg.