“Our ambition is to develop detailed planning to create the optimal conditions for green reindustrialization” — Fabienne Buccio, Prefect of AuRA and coordinator of the MeRS Corridor

Fabienne Buccio: The Mediterranean-Rhône-Saône Corridor was created in 2021 out of political will: to create the conditions for green reindustrialization by developing high-capacity inland waterway and rail transport in France’s leading industrial region. This requires a competitive hinterland spanning four major regions: Occitanie, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne, which together account for 35% of the country’s value added.

Coordinating this development across a vast area with stakeholders whose interests vary requires a flexible and effective organization. A prefect—myself—was therefore appointed to coordinate the project, along with Romain Maillot, Director General for development of the corridor. We regularly convene, around twice a year, interport and logistics coordination councils (CCIL) across the four regions concerned to review progress, sticking points and forthcoming projects. These meetings bring together the four regional prefects, representatives of regional councils and metropolitan authorities, experts, and all our partners representing the operators located along the corridor.

Fabienne Buccio: At the beginning of the project, for example, we asked all participants what they believed was holding back inland waterway transport development in our regions. Many responses centered on customs issues. We therefore enlisted a customs coordinator to work specifically on that topic and resolve bottlenecks, by sharing each party’s best practices. The idea is to break each issue down into smaller workstreams in order to reach compromises quickly. In June, this resulted in the digitalization of flows, with interoperability among all tracking tools at every port along the corridor.

Moreover, the MeRS Corridor cannot succeed without nearby land. As the first building block in the overall development of the corridor, last June, with the support of our partners, we published the corridor’s first catalog (see box), listing all available sites to facilitate their promotion and marketing. This interactive map is a valuable resource for strategic planning and optimizing investment in our dynamic regions.

Fabienne Buccio: The necessary land-use restraint that led to the ZAN (Net Zero Land Take) policy made us aware of the scarcity of land. We therefore had to overcome a few barriers and make people understand that we share a common destiny, and that this inventory would strengthen the competitiveness of our regions served by the MeRS Corridor.

In addition to site availability dates and intended uses, this catalog is intended to be continuously enriched with further details. But that takes time! Ultimately, we would like it to be included in the national “France Foncier +” scheme, in order to avoid multiplying tools for shippers and simplify their land searches. It would also allow us to have certain regional or departmental projects recognized as being of national importance, thereby creating new opportunities for the stakeholders behind them.

Fabienne Buccio: First of all, every constraint must be taken into account: energy, decarbonization requirements, land, and so on. Our ambition is to develop detailed planning that finds a balance among everyone’s challenges. We know this project is ambitious, and we are putting every chance on our side to bring it to fruition by co-constructing it with local areas, economic stakeholders and local authorities. Planning means consultation.

Fabienne Buccio: Planning can partly resolve this contradiction. It makes it possible to anticipate needs and select sites coherently. Freight transport currently accounts for 30% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Choosing a location close to transport routes, thereby reducing travel distances, cuts GHG emissions—especially when inland waterways and rail are used as transport modes. Choices can also be made about the type of industry to develop and the energy businesses use for their operations and to move their goods.

Fabienne Buccio: We are only at the very beginning. At the December 2023 CCIL, the first phase of the corridor’s master plan was presented. Its aim is to align the development strategies of economic land managers with those of the regional councils, the metropolitan authorities of Marseille, Toulon and Lyon, and the regional Chambers of Commerce and Industry, with the objectives of land-use restraint and energy performance. After discussions with all our partners—Voies Navigables de France (VNF), the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR), the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille (GPMM), as well as professional associations such as Afilog—we now understand energy, transport and land requirements. We believe a first version of this master plan could be released in 2025.

Fabienne Buccio: We do indeed represent an unprecedented form of governance that is attracting considerable interest. Putting forward interregional planning on this scale is ambitious, so it is important to exchange best practices with other organizations like ours, such as the Northern Corridor, for example. These discussions enable us to explore new subjects, including cybersecurity.