In February 2021, the major European ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge announced their merger. It is reported that the ports of the three major French cities: Le Havre, Rouen and Paris will also be merged. These three ports will be named Haropa after the merger. From June 1st, the ports of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris will be owned by the same company, and more than $1.6 billion will be invested in the development and expansion of new ports.

Stéphane Raison was appointed to execute the merger in November 2020. He will lead the joint port company, which will be headquartered in Le Havre. Raison said in an email: "By combining the strengths of our three ports, we will be able to deploy global logistics solutions from Le Havre to Paris and beyond." He described the port of Le Havre as France's largest cargo export container port and the world's largest wine export port. In addition, the port of Rouen is the country's largest trading port for corn and agricultural products, while the port of Paris is known as the largest "river port" in France and is connected to the Seine.

The CEO explained that the decision to merge the ports was made in 2018 to ensure that the ports are globally competitive in the future.

Invested more than US$1 billion in port projects

New port projects require substantial investment. According to the plan, 1.45 billion euros (1.6 billion US dollars) will be spent on the development and expansion of Haropa by 2027.

The company said the funds will be raised through public investment, including donations from the European Union, the French government, two regional governing bodies and many local governments. In addition, the project requires funds from private sector investors who are interested in investing in new logistics and industry facilities.

The announcement shows that these figures and plans are twice the level of investment applied by these three ports between 2014 and 2019. Therefore, the company will continue to expand and add new items to the list.

Haropa wrote in the statement that in Le Havre, this includes the modernization and expansion of the ro-ro terminal, as well as plans to launch "Europe's largest wind power plant construction project" in cooperation with Siemens Gamesa.

In Rouen, emphasis was placed on the modernization of dry bulk terminals, as well as the development of logistics parks and improvements to the terminals to make short-distance voyages easier. Editor/He Yuting