France Advances Massive Canal Project with Digital Engineering

• Proeksa Meas
• 11 July 2026
• Construction Focus
• 776 Views

France is currently undertaking the construction of the Seine-Nord Europe Canal, a €7.3 billion project set to become the continent’s most ambitious waterway initiative in a century. Stretching 107 kilometers, the canal will provide France with direct freight access to major northern European ports like Rotterdam and Antwerp.

To overcome the immense engineering challenges of building record-breaking locks and a massive canal viaduct, main contractor Egis has implemented advanced technology from Bentley Systems.

By utilizing Bentley’s ProjectWise, the engineering team established a connected data environment that allowed hundreds of professionals to collaborate in real-time, visualize the entire project, and identify construction conflicts before they occurred in the field.

This digital approach was further enhanced by Bentley’s MicroStation and OpenRoads applications. These tools proved transformative, increasing overall project productivity by more than 40 percent and slashing model-generation time by over 60 percent.

Beyond the construction phase, the digital models created through this software will serve as a permanent, living record to assist with long-term asset management once the canal opens in 2032.

By leveraging these digital solutions, the project aims to shift freight transport from congested roads to water, ultimately lowering carbon emissions and significantly strengthening European trade connections.

• Bentley
• ProjectWise
• MicroStation
• Bentley Systems
• OpenRoads