The Quai de la Prise d’Eau development entered its concrete phase at the start of June

The group of companies led by Charier GC, which Nantes − Saint Nazaire Port has charged with carrying out the work, has begun the excavation operations on the 1 200 m² area that will be reinforced. That phase will be followed at the end of June by the grading of the existing quay, and at the same time by the incorporation of inclusions designed to stabilize the rear platforms. A stage that is both technical and spectacular, the operation to install 54 piles (cf opposite) will be carried out over the summer, from mid-July to the end of August. The work will finally be completed at the end of the year, when the mains supply networks are put in place and the area is resurfaced. A new, reinforced road to run alongside the dock basin will also be built, to permit the utilization of the HMK 280 wheel-mounted crane, which currently operates at the end of the quay.

A 1 300 T Substation for the Inaugural Loading Operation

Built in 1932, the structure was initially designed to bear loads ranging from a few tens of tonnes to hundreds of tonnes. Originally, the quay was used for bulk cargo consignments, chiefly sand, grain and cereals, then steel. The work being carried out will enable the quay to bear loads of 15 tonnes per m² as compared to 4 tonnes per m² at present. STX will be the first to use the facility, to load its 1 300-tonne electricity substation produced at the nearby Anemos factory and bound for an offshore wind farm in Northern Europe. Eventually, it is planned to load substations weighing 4 500 tonnes.

With the Quai de la Prise d’Eau facility soon to be operational, Nantes − Saint Nazaire Port is thereby continuing to roll out its real-estate, logistical and industrial offer for XXL consignments and the marine renewable energy sector. In the Saint Nazaire industrial and port activity zone, the Quai de la Prise d’Eau quay will become a complementary facility for the future MRE logistics hub, which is to be used for the storage and pre-assembly of offshore wind turbine components, notably for the creation of the Saint Nazaire offshore wind farm looking towards 2020, and for the Quai des Charbonniers heavy-lift cargo terminal and its 400-tonne capacity jumbo derrick.

The work is being co-financed by Central Government, the Regional Authority, the Departmental Authority, Saint Nazaire Urban Area District Authority and Nantes − Saint Nazaire Port, via the 2015-2020 Central Government − Regional Government planning agreement operation to create a logistics hub.