Ingebruikneming Franse dam laat belang financiering Trans-Europese Netwerken zien (en)

A dam on the Oise river located in the Venette suburb of Compiègne (France) was inaugurated today in a ceremony which saw the participation of local authorities as well as representatives from the European Commission’s DG Mobility and Transport i and the TEN i-T Executive Agency (TEN-T EA). The dam, which improves navigation on the river, thus rendering inland waterway transport more competitive in the region, is part of a construction project co-financed by the EU i to the tune of €1 million.

The inauguration of the Venette dam marks a turning point in the management of the fluvial network in northern France as it is the last step in the programme, launched in 2004 by the French government, to improve navigability on the Oise river by modernising dams and locks along its path.

In particular, the reconstruction of the Venette dam improves navigation safety on the river, allowing navigation even in periods of high water levels.

Furthermore, the dam features a fish passing system, is surmounted by a pedestrian bridge connecting the two sides of the river and contributes to the realisation of TEN-T Priority Project 30 (Inland Waterway Seine-Scheldt), which will join the Paris basin to the canal systems in Belgium and the Netherlands, via the “Canal Seine Nord” project.

The European Commission and the Agency, which have followed the project from inception to conclusion and managed the €1 million EU co-financing, hail today’s inauguration as a key step in the advancement of European inland waterways and European mobility as a whole.

For more information, please consult the project's page.