Eurotunnel bids to take over Calais and Boulogne
by business editor Trevor Sturgess
Eurotunnel is bidding to take over the French ports of Calais
and Boulogne.
The Channel Tunnel operator, which also owns three cross-Channel
ferries, hopes to win a concession to run the ports for the next 50
years.
It has also proposed adding the port of Dunkirk to create a
quartet of terminals - including the Tunnel complex at Coquelles -
under its control.
The ports of Calais and Boulogne are now run by the Opal Coast
Chamber of Commerce and Industry under a 10 year deal.
Eurotunnel Group already runs port rail infrastructure at Rouen,
Nantes and Dunkirk, and is involved in economic development through
its extensive land holdings and French Government demands to create
jobs.
It will face competition from the Opal Coast Chamber which wants
to extend its concession and is understood so far to be the only
other bidder.
Eurotunnel spokesman John Keefe said infrastructure management
had been a growth area for the company. “With the concession coming
up next year, it seemed a good thing to get involved in,” he said.
“We’ve made a preliminary bid and now we’re going into a much more
detailed round.”
It would “make sense” to link the all the ports along the
Northern coast of France.
“Rather than have them compete for traffic, it might be good to
have a considered long-term strategy that worked at a regional
level.
"We will be putting forward an economic plan alongside a
management plan to get the more efficient organisation into the
ports.”
Eurotunnel would be able to take a broader view than existing
management, he said.
He dismissed possible criticism of a potential monopoly
situation by saying that the ports would compete with other
terminals in France, as well as Dover and Folkestone.
09/01/13
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