Brittany’s regional council – Région Bretagne – has acquired a €3.6 million stake in the Morbihan Ports Company (CPM) with the aim of simplify the management and organisation of South Britany’s marinas and ports.
In the past the organisation has been fragmented between several public players including local authorities, public and semi-public operators.
The region’s 17 ports with 12,600 berths are managed by a local public company (SPL), with river berths owned by the Région.
In the ports owned by the Région, management has been granted to different municipalities or inter-municipalities which, themselves, have delegated part of the operation to operators such as the CPM or in the Lorient region, the SEM Sellor.
Environmental initiatives and decarbonisation
The new governance structure involves three major partners: the Department of Morbihan, the Region of Brittany, and Lorient Agglomération, alongside associated local municipalities.
The Région says the new organisation will make it possible to carry out useful projects, particularly in terms of environmental initiatives and decarbonisation projects by involving the municipalities where the sites are located, for everything concerning city-port interfaces.
The agreement between the main partners will come into effect at the beginning of 2026.
The capital investment will be followed by the gradual transfer of the management of the ports of Lorient, Vannes and Redon to the SPL to achieve a unified, more transparent operation.
Single, unified approach
The single, unified approach is also being replicated in North Brittany.
Bretagne Plaisance, another SPL, was created at the end of 2022 by the Region and the City of Saint-Malo, which now operates the Bas-Sablons and Vauban.
It will gradually expand its operations throughout 2026 and 2027 to include Cancale and the ports of the river Rance as far as Dinan, followed by those of North-west Brittany, with the objective of coordinating on a regional scale.
