Record investment for the river: VNF will invest nearly 345 million euros in 2022

This unprecedented investment is made possible thanks to the increase in the allocation devoted to rivers in the State budget.^[1] and co-financing of river projects by local authorities or the European Union.

For Thierry Guimbaud, Managing Director of VNF, “Our record investment capacities are directly in line with the COP that we signed last year with the State and which aims to make the river a pillar of ecological transition. By 2030, more than 3 billion euros are planned to be devoted to the VNF network over the duration of the contract. Regeneration, modernization, development, securing works, we invest wherever we are present to carry out all of our public service missions. The river is both a virtuous ecosystem offering a real capacity for modal shift for more sober and safer logistics, an infrastructure at the service of cohesion and sustainable development of the territories, and finally it constitutes an increasingly precious reserve. of water and biodiversity”.

A record investment for VNF in 2022 thanks to the recovery plan

VNF has an investment budget for 2022 of nearly 345 million euros to make reliable, modernize and develop its infrastructure and strengthen the role of the river. Indeed, after decades of under-investment in favor of the river network, VNF has recorded a significant increase in its credits in recent years. As a reminder, they were €170 million in 2019. Over the duration of the contract between the establishment and the State, the river's investment capacity will be €300 million on average per year.

Between 2021 and 2023, the establishment will benefit from an allocation of 175 million euros as part of the economic recovery plan. In concrete terms, this additional budget makes it possible to speed up the completion of approximately 100 network maintenance and modernization projects carried out by the establishment.

This is the case, for example, of the work in progress to strengthen the banks of the Canal du Center over several hundred meters at Ecuisses in Saône et Loire. This is also the case of the Nourriguier lock which connects the Beaucaire marina to the Canal du Rhône à Sète and whose rehabilitation works amounting to 3 million euros financed by the recovery plan will allow the reopening of the sector to navigation by the summer.

Major regeneration and modernization works across the entire network

The establishment devotes the vast majority (three quarters) of its investment budget to regenerating its infrastructure throughout its network.

This translates into numerous maintenance and upkeep operations on its classified dykes, its locks on both small and large gauge, or even its dams on the entire network.

The network managed by VNF is characterized by its extent (6700km) but also by a high number of structures (4000). This heritage includes both robust but very old structures, built in the 1960th century, particularly on the narrow-gauge network, and structures from the 70s-XNUMXs, most often on the large gauge, whose industrial equipment shows signs of aging that should be regenerated.

At the same time, the establishment is carrying out an ambitious multi-year network modernization program integrating the renovation of infrastructures and the integration of digital technology into working methods which will allow for more modern network management, a more responsive and efficient service and better working conditions. safer for staff.

On the large gauge, the command and control of the structures (locks and dams) are gradually centralized – this is called remote control. On the small gauge, the network will be automated to make the offer more attractive, to give more flexibility as regards the timetables of navigation and to facilitate the exploitation.

For example, this year the establishment is hiring:

• the raising of the Pont de Carnon on the Rhône to Sète canal for an amount of 2,3 million euros;
• the replacement of the needle dam at Wacken in Strasbourg on the canalized Ill for an amount of 3,6 million euros;
• reconstruction of the Batardeau river dam in Auxerre for a total amount of 5 million euros;
• the restoration of the head of the Saint-Albin tunnel-canal in Haute-Saône for 7 million euros;
• the regeneration of the Gambsheim locks for a total amount of 38 million euros, with the financial support of Europe.

And continues:

• the modernization of dams and the replacement of lock gates on the canalized Moselle, for an overall budget of more than 50 million euros;
• the implementation of remote control for the wide-gauge network in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais regions for a total amount of 36 million euros.

With regard to hydraulic management, VNF is continuing its investments to improve the supervision of water levels in order to better anticipate quantitative management and optimize water resources to ensure better sharing of its uses. Thus, VNF will commit 7 million euros to the Canal des deux mers for the installation of water level supervision sensors, mechanization and remote management of hydraulic structures by 2025.

VNF is also pursuing actions relating to the safety of hydraulic structures with approximately 10 million euros which will be committed this year. For example, note the launch of repair work on the Bouzey reservoir dam supplying the Vosges canal near Epinal.

Seine Escaut, an investment in the future for European territories

As in 2021, the year will thus be marked by a series of major achievements aimed at promoting the development of river logistics and in particular on the French part of the European Seine Escaut link, which will connect the Seine basin with the Northern Europe's river network, and will promote the economic development of the territories.

Indeed, the Seine-Escaut axis, includes the construction of the 107km Canal Seine Nord, piloted by the Société du Canal Seine Nord, but also the widening of all the existing canals of the logistics axis of the Seine to the Scheldt, i.e. 1000 km. VNF is the contracting authority for all the other French parts of the axis. Thus, in 2022, more than €70 million will again be committed, in particular for:

• To chase :
  • the operation to restore navigation to the Condé-Pommeroeul canal in Hauts de France;
  • operations to recalibrate the Lys;
  • the recalibration operations at La Deûle;
  • modernization work on the Méricourt locks;
  • the restoration of the Denain lock (59);
  • the modernization project for an amount of 39 million euros of the Poses dam in the Eure, where more than 6 million tons of goods and nearly 10 boats pass through each year.
• And launch new projects related to the adjustment of this geostrategic axis, such as:
  • the extension of the Quesnoy-sur-Deûle lock (59), for an overall budget of 33 million euros until 2026;
  • the renovation of the Bougival locks (78), representing a budget of 7,2 million euros;
  • the repair of the dyke at Croissy-sur-Seine (78) for more than 10 million euros;
  • the reconstruction of the Beaulieu dam (10) for an amount of 15,8 million euros.

VNF, with the support of Europe and the Hauts de France Region, will thus have invested nearly 300 million euros over the period 2014-2022 for the development and modernization of the 735 km of its network within the Seine-Escaut link.

[1] via the French Transport Infrastructure Funding Agency – AFITF