Industries & port

The leading French maritime port of the North Sea, the third most important port in France, and the most important energy plant in Europe, Dunkerque, situated at the heart of an urban agglomeration with a population of 200 000, combines traditional industry and economic activity of an international port with sustainable development, and was awarded a European first prize for this.

Only a short boat trip (1.30 hours) away from the world’s busiest maritime route and situated right near Lille at the centre of the Brussels/London/Paris triangle, Dunkerque holds a key position as an international hub for bulking freight and shipping it all over Europe. Perfectly integrated in international exchanges, the Maritime Port of Dunkerque serves long distance destinations (Asia, West Indies, South America...) as well as Northern Europe. In 2008, total freight traffic was 57.7 million tons.

A number of prestigious industrial companies have chosen to set up firms in Dunkerque and today, the Urban Community of Dunkerque is home to major industrial clusters belonging to prominent international companies (Arcelor, Rio Tinto, EDF Nuclear Plant…) working with a network of smaller but very competitive industrial maintenance companies.

This dual competence as an industrial centre and an international port has made it easy to integrate the principle of sustainable development as a means to preserve and improve quality of life. In this context, the Urban Community of Dunkerque together with local economic actors has opted for sustainable industrial development. A choice consolidated in 1993 with the introduction of a Sustainable Industrial Development Scheme.

The development of the Western Port, sponsored by the Urban Community of Dunkerque and its partners, made it possible for our territory to equip its port with one of the most highly competent logistic hubs in Europe. All types of transport are used in the zone of the port of Dunkerque which is also France’s leading rail freight centre (rail freight represents 52% of modal shifts in Dunkerque and 11% of national freight traffic). These efforts to improve rail service are being pursued in order to boost intermodal rail freight and combined transport. To this end, an agreement has been signed with EuroTunnel regarding rail freight with a view to lessen the environmental impact of freight transport while promoting Dunkerque as a competitive port. It is with this objective in mind that the Urban Community of Dunkerque is offering active support to the international competitive cluster I-TRANS (rail at the heart of innovative transport solutions).

In 2008, over 60% of Dunkerque’s freight traffic was shipped to and from its port by means of environment-friendly bulk transport, 10.5% of which was water-borne. The future Nord-Seine Europe canal will boost this potential. These are all essential arguments when it comes to developing European maritime cabotage as an alternative to increasing road traffic and in conformity with sustainable development objectives.