Marseilles Fos targets northern ports

The deal is the first since the hinterland policy announced by the port’s supervisory board in April, under which the port is seeking capital stakes in key inland platforms to reinforce its aim of becoming the Mediterranean alternative to ports in the European northern range.

Enhanced rail access to markets such as southern Germany and Switzerland made Pagny a priority target, with Marseilles Fos saying transit times will be reduced by developing ‘landbridge solutions’, combining maritime and overland logistics. The deal is expected to generate new traffic of around 40,000 teu per year.

Pagny is managed by Manuport, a subsidiary of Europort’s-Benelux Port Holdings, which took a 34% stake in the terminal last year and works alongside a string of local chambers of commerce. The template for the hinterland policy dates from the 1999 alliance with Port Edouard Herriot in Lyons, where Marseilles Fos holds a 16% stake.