The whole territory has been in fact working up to this for many years, with West Normandy Marine Energy (WMNE) and Ports of Normandy Authority (PNA), both chaired by Laurent Beauvais.
Making room for new activities related to Marine Renewable Energy
Following a union committee meeting, PNA’s elected representatives officially launched large-scale extension works of the port of Cherbourg’s main roadstead, which will be a milestone in the history of the port’s development. Indeed, due to the allocation of ALSTOM’s industrial unit for offshore wind activities on harbour land, and EDF’s assembly hub for the offshore wind farm in Courseulles-sur-Mer, readily available land to accommodate new activities has become scarce.
Sure of its own assets and those of the territory, PNA has decided to undertake these extension works to be able to accommodate the tidal energy sector, as well as additional activities related to offshore wind turbines. At the end of 2014, GDF/Alstom and EDF EN/DCNS won the call for expressions of interest for tidal turbine pilot farms. This is a major milestone towards the industrial development of this technology. In this arena, the port of Cherbourg’s proximity to the Race of Alderney is a clear advantage.
In terms of offshore wind, the port relies on its assets to compete for new activities: foundations, cabling, assembling of wind farms off the South coast of England and in France, etc.
With this in mind, the union committee has been considering, at EDF’s request, the possibility of creating a new heavy load quay north of the Quay des Flamands, in order to meet the demands of simultaneous processing of wind farms assembly in Courseulles-sur-Mer and Fécamp.
This investment is supported by the EU, the EIB and the French government
“The extension project’s 50 million euro funding is the result of a strong budgetary choice from the Basse- Normandie region and Manche department, along with key support from the French government and the European Union”, pointed out Laurent Beauvais, PNA’s chairman. The quality and consistency of the project, together with its long-term effects on local growth and employment, have convinced the French government, the European Union (EU) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to back up PNA’s project. The FEDER and the Contrat de Plan Inter-Régional (CPIER) will contribute nearly 25 million euros in subsidies. The EIB also granted a loan with advantageous terms.
Therefore, the project benefits from honourable financing with low impact on local public financing.
Outstanding means for large-scale works
Works will start mid-March. Scheduled to last 18 months, they will be managed by the company SODRACO, a subsidiary of the Belgian group Jan de Nul, associated with DTP Terrassements, a subsidiary of Bouygues Construction. Works consist of building a breakwater 1.8 km long made of 250,000 tonnes of riprap, each boulder weighing five to six tonnes. This breakwater will help contain the five million cubic metres of dredged materials that will form the future harbour land. Outstanding means will therefore be used to complete this large-scale project.
The first phase of works will last seven to eight months. It will consist of dredging and rock excavating the sea bottom located between the channel and the harbour land attached to the Quay des Flamands. These large-sized materials will constitute part of the breakwater’s core. They will be completed with riprap extracted from quarries, some of which are local, and transported by trucks.
As the construction work on the breakwater progresses, dredging will provide sand that will form the embankment. To perform this operation, the SODRACO company has committed to hiring unemployed workers to complete up to a minimum of 5% of the worksite’s total labor hours, in compliance with the contract terms.