BESIX will take part in the construction of the Oisy-le-Verger lock

After a two-year selection procedure, the SPIE Batignolles / BESIX / NGE consortium has been selected by the Société du Canal Seine-Nord Europe (SCSNE), from among four candidates, to build the first major lock located in Oisy-le-Verger, in the Pas-de-Calais department, on the northern section of the canal.

This consortium brings together SPIE Batignolles Génie Civil, BESIX SA, Guintoli, Valerian, SPIE Batignolles Fondations, NGE Fondations and Atlas Fondations. Atlas Fondations, a subsidiary of Franki Foundations and part of the BESIX Group, is also involved in the main earthworks, civil engineering structures and communications reinstatement contract for section 1, covering 18 km in the Oise department, south of the Canal Seine-Nord Europe. The works will begin in May 2026, with commissioning scheduled for around 2032.

The Oisy-le-Verger lock is the first major lock on the Canal Seine-Nord Europe to be awarded. Ultimately, seven locks and several canal bridges - including one over 1,330 metres long - will structure the route of this major infrastructure. The lock chamber will measure 195 metres long by 12.5 metres wide. The lock will have a drop height of 25 metres, with a total structure height of 32 metres.

​The Canal Seine‑Nord Europe, financed by the European Union, the French State, the Hauts-de-France and Île-de-France regions, and the departments of Nord, Oise, Pas-de-Calais and Somme, is the central link in the Seine–Scheldt inland waterway network. This European project, spanning more than 1,100 km of large-gauge waterways, is a flagship achievement of the European Green Deal and the most ambitious initiative for the development of inland waterway transport in Europe.

The structure will include a pumping station, four saving basins, and one buffer basin, enabling a significant proportion of the water to be recovered during emptying and reused for the next filling. The 70,000 m³ in the lock chamber will be able to be discharged in 15 minutes. The average time taken to pass through a Canal Seine-Nord Europe lock is 30 minutes, around half of which is spent rising or descending in the chamber.

BESIX has recognised expertise in delivering hydraulic infrastructure in Europe, as illustrated by the Princess Beatrix lock in the Netherlands, the Vistula Spit canal in Poland and the fourth Lanaye lock in Belgium. BESIX has also begun the renovation of the Krammer lock complex in the Netherlands.

The construction of the Canal Seine‑Nord Europe is part of an ambitious environmental approach. Accordingly, the project will aim to limit its carbon footprint, in particular by prioritising inland waterway and rail transport for the delivery of materials.

Ultimately, the Seine-Scheldt network, of which the Canal Seine‑Nord Europe is the central link, will form a sustainable transport corridor serving the energy transition and the economic development of the regions. It should make it possible to replace 2.3 million lorries a year on European roads. A 185-metre barge can therefore carry the equivalent of 220 lorries.

Beyond its operational role, the Oisy-le-Verger lock forms part of an educational and local development approach. It will be one of the three locks on the Canal Seine-Nord Europe open to the public, thanks to a secure visitor route integrated from the design stage.

Visitors will be able to discover this exceptional structure as part of a tourist circuit developed by the Arras Pays d’Artois Tourist Office, offering an immersive experience at the heart of a major hydraulic infrastructure.

Particular attention has also been paid to its landscape integration, helping to shape new landscapes along the canal and strengthen the attractiveness of the Hauts-de-France region.