The Rhenus Group has become the leader of the new Rhône Modal Shift consortium, which has been awarded a 25-year concession to manage France’s key river ports of Vienne-Sud and Port-lès-Valence. The project is supported by the French state and CNR and aims to develop multimodal transport in the Rhône Valley, including doubling the volume of freight by river and rail by 2032.
The consortium includes Rhenus (51%), the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Nord-Isère and Drôme (20% each), and Société Report Modal (9%). The ports already play an important role in the region’s logistics: in 2024, Vienne-Sud handled 115,000 tonnes by river and 137,000 tonnes by rail, while Port-lès-Valence handled 80,000 and 171,000 tonnes, respectively. An investment of €80 million is planned to develop the four Rhône ports.
The initiative will be part of the strengthening of the Mediterranean-Rhône-Saône (MeRS) international corridor, which connects Lyon with the port of Marseille-Fos, and will help reduce the number of trucks on the roads of the Rhône Valley by up to 120,000 per year. According to CCI and Rhenus, the project will improve logistics for businesses, reduce the burden on roads and strengthen the links between European internal markets and maritime trade routes.