company : The creation of the Seine axis major river & sea port

Today sees the birth of a new port complex from a grouping of the ports of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris. All three port authorities have now merged to become the “Seine Axis Major River & Sea Port”. They now form a single port ranking no. 1 in France and fifth among Northern European ports; a port with global outreach.

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©HAROPA PORT

HAROPA PORT benefits from unique geographical advantages. A maritime coastline open to the whole world and a Seine corridor that serves via natural routes a consumer catchment area (Paris and its surrounding region) with a population of 25 million – the largest in France and the second largest in Europe.

France’s central government has provided this new port complex with massive financial underpinning of €1.45 billion for the years 2021-2027 to allow the funding of numerous ambitious projects for development and redevelopment of port facilities. New-generation projects focused on local regions and protective in all cases of the environment and shared resource use.

“HAROPA PORT will give us a higher profile in Europe’s competitive environment and provide a preferential location for new industrial operations generating new jobs. This high level of ambition is founded on winning back market share by offering a benchmark port and logistics system to serve customers and partners in France and overseas” Stéphane RAISON, HAROPA PORT CEO, explains.

Governance

HAROPA PORT has its headquarters in Le Havre. A supervisory board whose members come from central government and local authorities, in addition to qualified public figures and employees, will be driving a vision for the future for the whole of the Seine Axis. It is supported by an orientation council tasked with providing informed input for strategic decisions and taking forward the underlying philosophy of cooperation and coordination. Its local roots, embodied in local government, enterprises based in the port communities and customers, will be preserved by three area management bodies based in Paris, Rouen and Le Havre. Each of these has a regional development board to represent local interests.