France's Port of Dunkirk invests €303 million in second container terminal

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The construction of the second container terminal at the Port of Dunkirk (GPMD) in France has been launched, with the port authority awarding the civil engineering contract to a consortium led by Spie Batignolles.

The project, valued at €303 million, includes a 1,000-meter deep-water quay wall and a 170-meter connecting section, with dredging depths reaching 17.5 meters, enabling simultaneous handling of two ultra-large container ships (ULCS). Construction will continue until 2029. Alphaliner noted that the terminal is a core component of the CAP 2020 plan, and the European Commission approved €127 million in French state aid in December 2024, bringing the plan into its final phase.

GPMD aims to increase the port's container throughput capacity from the current 850,000 TEUs at the Terminal des Flandres to approximately 2 million TEUs. This expansion comes after a record year, with the Terminal des Flandres at the Port of Dunkirk handling 747,000 TEUs in 2025, equivalent to 88% of its nominal capacity. Alphaliner added that this will strengthen the argument for demand in the congested Northern European region.

This year, the Port of Dunkirk has once again been included in the FAL1 mainline service of the OCEAN Alliance, connecting the Far East and Northern Europe, which is operated by CMA CGM.