Le Havre invests for the future

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 9/1/2000

The Port of Le Havre in France, once shunned by shippers for its unreliable labor force, has made a turnaround in recent years. Improved labor relations and a series of infrastructure investments have helped the port attract new business, while the French government's success in building the central region of the country into a manufacturing and logistics center also has boosted Le Havre's traffic volumes. The port, now the fifth largest in Europe, expects to handle 1.7 million TEUs (twenty-foot container equivalent units) in 2001 and 2.1 million TEUs by 2003.

The port authority now is focusing on long-term developments that will guarantee Le Havre's growth throughout the new century. The "Port 2000" project, which will create a new container facility with 12 new berths capable of handling up to 4 million containers annually, will open its first four berths in 2003.

A public/private investment of US $600 million over the next five years will increase Le Havre's container, bulk, and roll-on/roll-off (ro/ro) capacity. Three-fourths of that money will be dedicated to the Port 2000 project; the balance will pay for upgrading existing container and bulk facilities, extending the ro/ro center, purchasing new cranes and security equipment, and funding ongoing maintenance programs.

Le Havre also is developing three new logistics parks adjacent to container terminals. The Normandy Logistics Park already has some tenants, including international logistics service providers Danzas, SCAC, and Frigoscandia. By the end of this year there will be more than half a million square feet of warehouse space within the park. The port recently announced that an unnamed company planned to add 1 million square feet of warehousing space at the park over the next three years. Normandy also offers a foreign trade zone, electronic data interchange, paperless customs clearance, and other electronic information services.

The Hode Logistics Park, a private development by the U.S.-French joint venture GaronorPrologis, is located within the port's industrial zone. The first stage of warehouse construction there will be completed next year. The third development, Logistics Park 2000, will be located next to the first four Port 2000 berths and will be ready for occupancy in 2003. Plans include building up to 2 million square feet of warehousing and manufacturing space, along with up-to-date information technology and customs clearance services at that location.