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HAROPA PORT and its ecosystem
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Fostering cooperation with our local regions
The ports are essential to the local regions in which they are based, especially with regard to the jobs and value-added linked to their economic activities.
HAROPA PORT is therefore in constant dialogue with stakeholders, whether these are local government authorities or representatives of economic sectors, non-profit bodies or cultural entities. Very many projects and programmes are emerging with a shared objective: to foster synergy between the port and its ecosystem.
HAROPA PORT is actively mobilised in far-reaching projects for its region. These may be:
- cultural: for example, the Un été au Havre (Summer in Le Havre) event, the Sens dessus dessous (topsy-turvy) operation with the Seine artistique in Paris or the Armada tall ships gathering in Rouen, the latter being a key diary date for the region,
- learning or science-based: examples are the Le Havre Port Centre, of which HAROPA PORT is a founding member, or collaborative projects with universities to promote port research and knowledge,
- environmental: collaboration with the Maison de l’Estuaire or La Seine en partage to encourage the emergence of flora and fauna conservation initiatives,
- architectural: development works for mixed-use quays to reconcile economic and leisure activities, examples being the Seine quaysides in Paris and Rouen and Le Havre’s Grand Quay
Contributing to France’s influence through collective initiatives
As a state public entity, HAROPA PORT operates under the general oversight of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion and more specifically under that of the General Directorate for Infrastructure, Transport and Mobility (DGITM). The port is also reliant on its skills, expertise, but above all on its robust network of stakeholders, in order to take its projects through to a successful conclusion in the national interest.
France Relance, Pack Rebond, Choose France, etc.: these are government projects in which HAROPA PORT has a special role to play!
Many projects initiated for the Seine Axis have received support from central government given their benefits for the economy, environment, industry, innovation, and much else. This support consolidates the programmes of France’s leading port and enhances the influence of the Seine Axis and France in Europe and internationally!
A closer look at a few projects: the investment in quayside electrification for sea cruises in Le Havre via France Relance – Pack Rebond; “turnkey ready” quality labels for logistics and industrial sites at Grand-Couronne near Rouen and for Le Havre’s Grand Canal.
Proof of this can be found in the establishment by France’s leading port of key partnerships in the private and public sectors aimed at concretising numerous initiatives, the goal of these being the practical implementation of national strategy in many areas: ecological transition and sustainable reindustrialisation, along with energy and food sovereignty, among others.
Aiming to develop rail freight, HAROPA PORT has signed up to the Seine axis Rail Freight programme with SNCF Réseau: this is a contact forum involving actors in the sector alongside shippers who do not currently include rail in their logistics approach. It allows issues to be listened to, options to be considered and projects to be defined. Its first two gatherings were devoted to the topic of improving the quality of freight rail path/time slots and routing.
In order to develop river transport, a partnership agreement was signed at the end of 2021 with the French Waterways Authority (VNF) to promote data exchanges and cooperation in the areas of innovation and greening. The agreement earmarks 12 ambitious works projects whose purpose is to enhance river transport’s competitivity for certain types of traffic, cooperation with rail, support for the ecological and digital transitions in the sector, among others.
In practice, both entities have completed a large number of projects that contribute to the development of river transport, the project with the highest profile being the Borne&Eau programme, which has received EU support and will involve the installation of almost a hundred more 100 water and electricity supply terminals along the Seine axis by the end of 2024. 44 have already been installed on quays managed by HAROPA PORT and VNF, saving 4,300 tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year.
Supported by VNF and HAROPA PORT, this project represents a total investment of €9.2 million, backed by Europe and the Ile-de-France region.
Fostering cohesion in France and internationally!
Sharing good practice, encouraging discussion based around feedback from experience, contributing to the development of all by making use of individual features and assets: all this encourages HAROPA PORT to establish partnerships with other ports not only in France but also abroad.
The HAROPA PORT / Montreal alliance
Six years after signing their first international cooperation agreement (2017), the Port of Montreal and HAROPA PORT renewed their agreement on April 28, 2023, with the aim of strengthening trade corridors between Canada and France. The two largest ports in the French-speaking world, which share many similarities, especially their geographical positioning within a logistics corridor located in close proximity to major commercial and industrial basins, wish to initiate mutually beneficial steps around 5 axes.
Sending messages and defending the sector’s goals
As the only French port with representation in Brussels, HAROPA PORT sees dialogue with EU institutions as central to its strategy. The port devotes considerable effort to issues relating to transport, industry and the energy and ecological transitions, for which the European Union is a key partner. As proof of this, it is an active contributor to funding major infrastructure projects, especially those that favour the ecological transition of ports, multimodality development, capacity increases and access improvement.
The CEF, a programme supporting numerous HAROPA PORT projects
Considered to be one of the main tools for EU infrastructure funding (transport, telecommunications and energy), the purpose of the CEF (Connecting Europe Facility) is to stimulate economic growth in Member States. Using calls for project proposals to which project owners respond, the European Commission grants subsidies and supports the creation of infrastructure.
Where the “transport” category is concerned, and the Seine axis region in particular, numerous projects have received support, such as for example direct river access for Port 2000 (known locally as the “cat flap” channel), improvement of Rouen’s maritime access, creation of a new port specifically for use by the construction industry in the west of the Paris area (PSMO) or, another example, river quayside electrification for water and electricity supply to river barges.
Looking beyond Europe, HAROPA PORT has always adopted a position as an international actor in the first rank, particularly through strategic alliances.
Business France plus HAROPA PORT: a win-win partnership!
On the basis of a programme promoting France’s influence abroad, the two organisations chose to establish a partnership in 2021 to improve information-sharing and coordination of their respective activities. The aim is to optimise the responses to companies that have projects and wish to call upon the services of HAROPA PORT. Considering that industrial and logistics activities together constitute a major vector for France’s attractiveness as a nation, Business France has the intention, working through this partnership, of making use of these strengths, and specifically the service offering the port has built up, to add value to France in the eyes of foreign investors.