Have you thought about

checking our FAQ ?

Who can benefit from the NFI services?

4 specific cases:
  • Foreign companies in all sectors looking to expand in Hauts-de-France
  • French companies with no site in Hauts-de-France
  • Hauts-de-France companies with a succession plan
  • Foreign-owned companies in Hauts-de-France with a development project
Our services are not intended for :
  • French or international self-employed entrepreneurs
  • French companies wishing to export
  • International companies seeking distribution networks only

Why as the help of Nord France Invest?

Nord France Invest provides you with completely tailored, free of charge and confidential support. We centralize all the information you need to analyze your project. We facilitate your process to find a site, partners or land. We organize site visits. We accelerate your networking with future regional partners. Find out more about the agency's services on this page.

What type of project can support you in?

The agency supports job-creating investment projects. The nature of projects varies according to 3 main categories:
  • Start-up projects
  • Expansion of existing sites in the region
  • takeovers of regional businesses by international companies.
Nord France Invest's services are not aimed at capital investments.
Check the FAQ
Contact

Do you have an expansion project?

Leave us your contact details and we’ll get back to you by e-mail.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Top !

Optimize your logistics

in Hauts-de-France

The Hauts-de-France region is a major European logistics hub. Its strategic location and exceptional transport infrastructure make it a key location for the transit of goods.
Nord France Invest

A strategic location
in Europe

Hauts-de-France has an ideal location for managing logistics flows and every kind of transport. And our European DNA gives us a number of competitive advantages:

  • A strategic location at the heart of the golden triangle linking London, Brussels and Paris.
  • The only region in France that borders Greater Paris and also has sea access and an international border.
  • 5 European capitals within a 300-km radius of Lille (half a day by truck)

 

Directs connections
to the UK

Due to its strategic location, the Hauts-de-France is particularly strategic for the United Kingdom. The Hauts-de-France Region is the perfect gateway for both the EU and the UK, facilitating almost €300 billion of trade between the two sides of the Channel.

2 transport options are available:

  • Railway: Eurotunnel operates shuttles for all types of trucks (Shuttle Fret), and also facilitates the passage of freight trains.
  • Maritime: The ferries of several shipping companies (P&O, DFDS, Irish Ferries) operates regularly, mainly between Calais and Dover, but also from Dunkirk and to several UK ports.

Multimodal
freight benefits

Multimodal platforms are a powerful asset for regions handling logistics flows, since they offer an alternative to 100% road transport. Advantages include:

  • Guaranteed faster deliveries
  • Improved security for goods in transit
  • Optimised transport costs
  • Greater capacity than truck transport

While Hauts-de-France has many multimodal platforms, the largest is indisputably the Delta 3 hub in Dourges.

THE DELTA 3 MULTIMODAL PLATFORM

Delta 3 is the first and only European-scale trimodal platform, on a single site equipped with:

  • A terminal offering transhipment by rail, road and inland waterway
  • State-of-the-art warehouses

Together these make Delta 3 a nerve centre of Europe’s logistics network. It has the largest combined transport terminal in France outside the country’s main ports, and lies on one of Europe’s leading freight transport arteries.

While road transport is very cost-competitive, Delta 3’s top differentiator is its ability to consolidate shipments—channelling goods out of ports quickly and facilitating delivery to their final destination.

 

Road transport
in Hauts-de-France

Road haulage remains the no. 1 choice for goods transport in Hauts-de-France. A dense network serves the entire region. And when you set up here, you’ll enjoy immediate access to major European motorways, starting with the A1—a leading European artery—linking Paris and Brussels.

LESS TRAFFIC JAMS THAN IN OTHER MATROPOLITAN AREAS AROUND THE WORLD

Although road traffic in Hauts-de-France is heavy, our regional capital, Lille, ranks only 191st among the world’s 387 most congested cities.

Average duration of a 10km-drive

CityTravel time
Parma12 min 40 s
Stockholm13 min 50 s
Lille14 min 10 s
Lyon15 min 10 s
Manchester16 min
Antwerp16 min 30 s
Hamburg16 min 40 s
The Hague17 min 40 s
Krakow18 min10 s
Frankfurt19 min
Brussels21 min 50 s
Bucharest21 min 50 s

source: Tomtom Traffic Index Ranking 2023

Rail transport
in Hauts-de-France

As France’s top rail region, Hauts-de-France handles a major share of goods entering and leaving the European Union by train.

A comprehensive rail network lets users optimise travel for people and goods. From Hauts-de-France, you can reach three European capitals within 90 minutes by TGV high-speed rail.

Average time to drive from:

  • 0h35 Lille - Brussels
  • 1h00 Lille - Paris
  • 1h06 Amiens - Paris
  • 1h20 Lille - London

RAIL TRANSPORT RESOURCES IN HAUTS-DE-FRANCE

Hauts-de-France accounts for 10% of France’s total rail network (Source: SNCF Réseau), or 2,755 km of track

Dunkerque is France’s no. 1 rail freight hub, handling 13 million tonnes a year, or 11% of the national total. The modal share of rail traffic here is 30%, well ahead of its French counterparts.

Maritime transport
in Hauts-de-France

In today’s global markets, having major ports nearby is a huge competitive advantage. In Hauts-de-France you’ll find a truly international port complex with access to world markets from three sites—Dunkerque, Boulogne and Calais.

PORT OF DUNKERQUE – INTERNATIONAL LINKS

Port traffic is essential for globalised trade, and the Port of Dunkerque is the third-largest seaport in France and one of the largest in Europe.

Dunkerque-Port’s primary focus is trade with Asia and Northern Europe, but it is also developing shortsea shipping to select ports in Northern Europe, North Africa and the Mediterranean.

 

Dunkerque port advantages

  1. a geographical location that gives companies access to a diversified port network, multiplying their connections to international markets.
  2. draughts of up to 22 meters to accommodate the world’s largest vessels (400-m container ships)
  3. attractive tax status

Dunkerque port rankings

1st rail freight hub

1st rail freight hub

in France

1st French port

1st French port

for coal and ore imports

1st French port

1st French port

for imports of fruit shipped in containers

1st inland waterway port

1st inland waterway port

in Nord/Pas de Calais

1st LNG terminal

1st LNG terminal

in France (Europe’s 2nd largest)

7th port in Europe's

7th port in Europe's

Northern Range

PORT OF BOULOGNE-CALAIS: A EUROPEAN LEADER IN 3 KEY AREAS

In 2015, the ports of Boulogne-Sur-Mer and Calais combined to form Boulogne-Calais—a single complex that ranks first in Europe in three areas:

pêche

Leader in fishing

Produits de la mer

Leader in seafood transformation

Transport maritine

Leader in cross-Channel maritime transport

About the Port of Boulogne-sur-Mer

Boulogne-sur-Mer is France’s No. 1 fishing port by tonnage, handling 4 key steps in the value chain:

  • catch
  • processing
  • marketing
  • distribution

Each year, the port processes 360,000 tonnes of seafood. Its best-in-class supply and distribution logistics and its massive refrigerated warehouse capacity make it the continent’s largest agrifood logistics platform.

 

About the Port of Calais

Calais is France’s 1st passenger port and Europe’s 2nd Ro-Ro (Roll on – Roll off) port. It handles 1/3 of all sea freight between continental Europe and the UK.

In 2022, the port facilities on the Calais / Dover ferry line will have handled around:

  • 5M passengers,
  • 36M tons of goods

As the shortest and most heavily used sea link between the continent and Britain, the Calais/Dover service plays an essential role in European trade.

inland navigation
in Hauts-de-France

Companies that choose river transport know that it’s an ecological, economical, safe and reliable mean of transport. The river network in the Hauts-de-France Region is one of the largest in France, with:

  • 3 seaports
  • 18 inland ports
  • 4 multimodal hubs

As a reminder, river traffic remains by far the most sustainable mode of freight transport:

g

CO2/ton.km

for river traffic, compared with 91g for road traffic

Fast Facts on inland waterways transport in Hauts-de-France

%

of all navigable waterways in France

kms

of navigable waterways

%

of all wide-gauge waterways in France

Lille: rd

inland port in France

+ M

transported by river in the Hauts-de-France region in 2022*.

* the equivalent of 375,000 trucks off the road

Container traffic has been growing steadily for several years, thanks to the intensification of river shuttles to connect major ports (Dunkirk, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Ghent).

Close-up… Canal Seine-Nord : the future of inland waterway transport in Hauts-de-France

 

The Seine-Nord Europe Canal is the missing link in the Seine-Escaut high-capacity waterway system, connecting the Seine basin to river and canal networks in Belgium and the northern section of the French inland waterway network, from Le Havre to Dunkerque.

Completion of the Seine-Nord Europe Canal—over 100 km in all—will allow users to reap the advantages of a 20,000-km wide-gauge inland waterway network in Europe. It will deliver direct benefits for the Hauts-de-France and Seine basins, by facilitating freight flows from France to Belgium and northward to the Netherlands and Germany. Seamless transport of goods is expected to boost traffic and simplify trade between northern Europe and the ports of Dunkerque, Le Havre and Rouen.

 

Air transport
in Hauts-de-France

At the center of Europe’s 6 biggest cargo hubs (Paris, London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Luxembourg), the Hauts-de-France Region offers real opportunities to optimize your air logistics flows. Europe’s 2nd largest airport, Roissy Charles de Gaulle, is less than an hour from Lille by TGV. And if you have air freight requirements, the regional airport (Lille-Lesquin) has an overseas platform and a range of related services.

MAJOR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

Located in the heart of the London-Paris-Brussels triangle, Hauts-de-France offers easy access to major international airports in Europe.

  • Paris/Roissy Charles de Gaulle: 0h50 from Lille
  • Paris/Roissy Charles de Gaulle: 0h30 from the TGV Haute Picardie high-speed rail station
  • Brussels airport: 1h15 from Lille

 

LILLE – LESQUIN AIRPORT

Lille-Lesquin airport is a stone’s throw from Greater Lille, allowing fast distribution and easy access for importers and exporters based in Hauts-de-France. It also offers powerful synergies with Lesquin’s Regional Transport Centre, a prime logistics hub in the region.

Overseas freight services at Lille-Lesquin:

  • Office buildings and warehouses
  • Door-to-door supply chain & transport services, customs processing
  • Air transport and import/export transport services for all continents. Express transport. Cargo charters.
  • Logistics services and import/export handling
  • Handling/ processing of cargo and mixed flights
  • Freight security
  • Order-picking
  • Just-in-time consolidation platform
  • Packaging
  • Equipment for heavy loads
  • Pallet-building equipment
  • Pyrometer temperature monitoring
  • And more

Key figures about Lille-Lesquin overseas platform

of dedicated office space

sq m

of dedicated office space

of tarmac reserved for cargo—big enough to handle AN 124s, B 747s and more.

sq m

of tarmac reserved for cargo—big enough to handle AN 124s, B 747s and more.

of dedicated warehouse space for air freight in transit

sq m

of dedicated warehouse space for air freight in transit

PARIS-BEAUVAIS AIRPORT

Paris-Beauvais airport is 60km from Amiens and Compiègne, and 100 km from Paris. It is now France’s 10th largest airport for passenger traffic, with six airlines serving over 60 destinations in 20 countries. New lines are added regularly.

Rising passerger number at the Paris-Beauvais airport

of passengers in 2022 compared to 78,000 in 1996

M

of passengers in 2022 compared to 78,000 in 1996

in 2022 compared to 4366 in 2001

flights

in 2022 compared to 4366 in 2001

in 2022 compared to 97 in 2001

passengers in each planes

in 2022 compared to 97 in 2001