The SOURCE pilot in the Hauts-de-France region with the support of the French government was presented at the last SOURCE Community meeting.
Representatives from France shared their experience using the SOURCE platform on February 20th. The meeting was attended by members of the SOURCE Community, which now includes nine countries: Angola, Ecuador, France, Kazakhstan, Panama, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The Community’s main objectives are to gather feedback to improve the platform and share best practices across borders.
Rationale behind the SOURCE pilot in France:
The presentation was introduced by Mr. Olivier Ginepro Project Director at Fin Infra, from the French Ministry of Finance. In highlighting the reasons France’s endorsement of SOURCE, he cited its alignment with international best practices, the platform’s neutrality, and that its servers are hosted in the UNICC (United Nations International Computing Centre). He also indicated that the tool is comprehensive for preparing projects and that it could facilitate a systemic transition on a global scale for the digitalisation of project preparation.
“France strongly supports SOURCE, which empowers governments towards sustainable development and facilitates the complex setting of concession and PPP arrangements, enhancing the projects’ bankability and access to private capital. This is why we consider it an essential tool to bridge the infrastructure gap.”
Mr. Olivier Ginepro, Project Director, Fin Infra, France Ministry of Finance.
France is comprised of a vast number of local authorities – over 35,000 – which is higher than in other European Union countries. Many of these small local authorities face capacity constraints, particularly in structuring well-developed infrastructure projects. Recognising this challenge’s universal nature, SOURCE’s potential as a solution was presented to OECD ambassadors in Paris.
The pilot project in Hauts-de-France:
Ms. Elisabeth Leclercq, International Project Manager an Mr. Laurent Desprez Director at Euralogistic, expanded on the selection of Somain Dry Port as pilot project to developed on SOURCE. She started by introducing the Hauts-de-France region, emphasising its strategic position in North-West Europe and its proximity to urban, industrial, and logistics centres.
This initiative exemplifies the commitment to the revitalisation of existing rail hub in Somain, as part of the regional strategic road map for a low-carbon economy REV3, to convert it as a Dry Port flagship project in France. In addition, the project aims to decarbonise logistics in line with the Trans-European transport network (TEN-T) policy and the European Zero Emission target by 2050. Ms. Elisabeth Leclercq presented the following benefits of using SOURCE for the Somain project:
- Better coordination among the different level of governance and stakeholders,
- Further development of the pre-feasibility study according to international best practices,
- Support in connecting with the relevant technical assistance and attracting private investors,
- Stronger alignment of the project scope and objectives with the regional, national and European strategic priorities,
- Easier definition and monitoring of activities, greater inclusion of the key economic, sustainable and social aspects in the documentation
The Euralogistic team has experienced how SOURCE facilitates best practice in infrastructure project management by offering a structured and centralised system for tracking progress, strengthening internal processes and accountability, and effective stakeholder communication.
The French case study illustrates the scalability of SOURCE from emerging markets to advanced economies, providing an adaptable digital tool that bridges the development divide.