Renaud Muselier and Clément Beaune sign an agreement to mobilize nearly 1.5 billion euros to improve and decarbonize transport in the Southern region, keeping in mind a potential hosting of the 2030 Winter Olympics in the Southern Alps.
The State and the region plan a historic amount of 1.5 billion euros to improve regional mobility. The goal: “to go further and faster, improve daily transport and organize the energy transition of our regional transport.”
This Friday, December 1, Renaud Muselier, president of the Southern region, signed the mobility component of the 2023-2027 State-Region Plan Contract, in the presence of the Transport Minister, Clément Beaune, and the PACA region’s prefect, Cristophe Mirmand, at the Regional Hotel. This 2023-2027 State-Region Plan Contract was initially outlined in a letter of intent last June.
Initially, they each agreed to contribute 337 million euros, but they announced an additional 100 million euros each to this initial envelope. The State and the region thus commit to mobilizing 770 million euros, which is more than half of the total amount, over the 2023-2027 period.
What projects for the Alpes-Maritimes?
Priority is clearly given to rail transport. 644 million euros, nearly half of the invested budget, are allocated to improving this sector. In the Alpes-Maritimes, the plan includes regeneration work on the Nice-Breil and Coni-Vintimille lines and an investment plan for Provence Railways. It also mentions the prefiguration of the Nice Metropolitan Regional Express Service (SERM).
A quarter of the funds is dedicated to port infrastructure, but this does not directly concern the Alpes-Maritimes. 23% is allocated to road transport. Nationally, this envelope has been halved compared to the previous generation of contracts. The government intends to show that its priority is decarbonized transportation.
90 million euros are dedicated to accelerating bicycle development, representing only 6% of the total envelope. In the Alpes-Maritimes, this commitment should result in the development of bicycle lanes.
The 2030 Olympics in sight
The IOC delivered its first verdict last November 29, with the Southern Alps’ candidacy to host the 2030 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games moving forward. It is the only one to have advanced to the “targeted dialogue” phase, marking the Southern Alps as the sole prospective host. To recall, this candidacy is supported by both the Southern region and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
This agreement provides the Southern Region with the necessary financial means to accelerate the modernization of transport infrastructures in anticipation of potentially hosting these Olympics in 2030, especially in the Maralpin territory. Nice would be one of the host cities and would notably host the ice events. One major issue lies in “the accessibility of the Olympic sites, both for sports delegations and spectators.”
“This is why the mobility component of the 2023-2027 State-Region Plan Contract aims to accelerate projects targeting the improvement of access to these areas, in a sustainable and resilient manner that will leave behind equipment and infrastructure as a legacy for the territories and residents,” states the region.
“The projects in question aim to modernize the main roadways, secure the traversed urban areas, and improve rail service to the Southern Alps,” it continues.
