The Swiss Gateway Basel Nord trimodal terminal in Basel-Kleinhüningen has received planning approval from the Swiss Federal Office of Transport (BAV) and can proceed with construction. The new terminal will be completed in two construction phases. The decision comes after a few years of dispute regarding unfair competition and nature conservation concerns.

The Gateway Basel Nord trimodal terminal, located on the junction of the Swiss, German and French borders, is a joint venture between Hupac, SBB Cargo, and Contargo. The company was founded in 2015 to implement a terminal for import-export traffic. It is called trimodal because, apart from rail links, it will be able to serve road transport and inland shipping operations since it is located on the Rhine.

The terminal has been subject to criticism, especially from Swissterminal, the provider of container terminal services in the Swiss area of Basel. In 2018, Swissterminal lodged a formal complaint against the federal funding for the planned container terminal, claiming that it creates unfair competition. A Swiss court decision from 21 January 2020 delayed the terminal’s construction even more since it upheld an appeal from Swissterminal, finding that the Swiss Rhine Ports, also involved in the Gateway Basel Nord project, undermined competition because it proceeded with the terminal’s construction without holding a public tender.

On top of that, the terminal’s construction on the chosen site posed some environmental questions, specifically concerning a dry meadow in the location, whether the terminal could be encroached on it and with what environmental cost. Gateway Basel Nord had to revise the project several times and developed a new approach entailing the building of a meadow bridge for migrating animals on top of a 45,8-hectare replacement area that will be home to diverse species of plants and animals. With this plan, the terminal will practically implement a nature conservation concept parallel to its operations.

Approval but also time to appeal

The revised plans gained BAV’s green light for the terminal’s planning approval, which is basically a building permit. However, before the decision is officially implemented, there is a 30-day timeframe until early October, during which complaints concerning the project can be filed. If no complaints are filed, then the terminal will commence construction.

Construction will take place in two stages: in the first stage, the terminal will have a bimodal profile accommodating intermodal transport and transhipment between rail and road. The cost of this stage is estimated at 130 million Swiss francs (about 135 million euros), and the Swiss Federal government will contribute with an investment of 83 million Swiss francs (about 86 million euros).

The second construction stage will transform the Gateway Basel Nord terminal into a trimodal hub. In this stage, construction will focus on the terminal’s port connection and access to the Rhine river. For this construction phase, costs will reach 155 million Swiss francs (about 161 million euros), and the Federal government will fund the project with 32.4 million Swiss francs (33.8 million euros).