Skip to main content

Eiffage set to be concessionaire for France’s RCEA project

France’s Transport Ministry has chosen construction and concessions group Eiffage as the single prospective concessionaire for the project to complete the Route Centre-Europe Atlantique. The east-west RCEA is considered to be one of the most dangerous routes in France, according to government statistics. Some sections of the route, also called the Route Nationale 79, has been upgraded into a four-lane motorway over the past several decades. The plan is make the remaining two-lane sections into four-lanes
June 17, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
France’s Transport Ministry has chosen construction and concessions group 5871 Eiffage as the single prospective concessionaire for the project to complete the Route Centre-Europe Atlantique.


The east-west RCEA is considered to be one of the most dangerous routes in France, according to government statistics. Some sections of the route, also called the Route Nationale 79, has been upgraded into a four-lane motorway over the past several decades. The plan is make the remaining two-lane sections into four-lanes.

French media reported that negotiations will now begin to finalise the project that could cost as much as €600 million, according to an estimate made last year by Benoît de Ruffray, chief executive of Eiffage.

The concession – which will not be bolstered with any public money – must include the provision for  clean vehicles and the deployment of electric vehicle charging equipment.

The project must be finalised by France’s transport regulator ARAFER and then given the go-ahead by the State Council, likely by the end of the year.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Stantec: coming to an infrastructure site near you
    April 13, 2017
    Acquisitive Canadian firm Stantec is snapping up more transportation expertise as it moves out of its home North American market. David Arminas reports. Last December, politicians from the US states of Kentucky and Indiana celebrated the opening of the second of two major bridges. A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place in cold wintry weather on the new 762m-long cable-stayed Lewis and Clark Bridge. The event marked the finish of the prestigious three-and-half-year Ohio River Bridges Project.
  • Tackling the UK's traffic congestion
    February 28, 2012
    The biggest problem on UK roads is congestion, and there is no shortage of ideas as to how it should be tackled. Patrick Smith reports. Congestion (and how to relieve it), along with safety, are among the top priorities facing those responsible for looking after the UK's roads. Road pricing, car-share lanes, greener vehicle initiatives and alternative methods of transport such as buses, trams and rail are all part of the approach, but prior to the current economic climate the nation's love affair with the c
  • Ireland and Scotland link?
    March 1, 2018
    Politicians in Northern Ireland have again raised the prospect of bridge to link western Scotland the Irish island, according to media reports. The road and rail crossing as envisaged by the Democratic Union Party would cost close to €23 billion. It would run between the Irish town of Larne in County Antrim and the Dumfries and Galloway coastline in Scotland. The DUP said in its manifesto for the 2015 UK general election that there should be a feasibility study into building a bridge or tunnel.
  • Implementing road user charging
    February 14, 2012
    Oregon Department of Transportation's James Whitty spoke with Jason Barnes on the state's progress with VMT fee-based charging