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Fragmented governance soon to be reorganized
Until now, the management of regional ports in Southern Brittany has been a hodgepodge of players: local authorities, intercommunalités, semi-public companies and public or semi-public operators. This complexity affected both seaports (such as Lorient and Vannes) and river facilities (Redon, Hennebont). The result was a lack of clarity for users and a lack of fluid governance, out of step with regional ambitions.
Shared capital for a common vision
To remedy this situation, the Région Bretagne is investing 3.6 million euros in the Compagnie des Ports du Morbihan (CPM), a local public company founded in 2012 by the Département du Morbihan. This capital investment is accompanied by the gradual transfer of management of the ports of Lorient, Vannes and Redon to CPM. The stated aim is to streamline operations, so as to be able to carry out joint projects on a regional basis.
The maneuver is part of a broader strategy, defined at the end of 2023, which aims to structure the regional yachting industry around public players capable of pooling resources, investments and ambitions.
A response to financial constraints and transition challenges
This institutional merger is taking place against a backdrop of tight budgets. For the Region, as for the other local authorities, consolidation around the CPM means that human and technical resources can be optimized within a single navigation basin. This centralization should also encourage coherent investments, in particular to support the port sector's ecological and energy transitions.
The new governance structure provides for shared representation: 11 seats for the Morbihan Department, 2 for the Brittany Region, 2 for Lorient Agglomération and 3 for the other local authorities concerned.
A model replicated in North Brittany
The logic is not unique to Southern Brittany. Since late 2022, a similar approach has been underway in Northern Brittany with the creation of SPL Bretagne Plaisance, co-founded by the Region and the City of Saint-Malo. After the ports of Bas-Sablons and Vauban, this structure will extend its management to Cancale, the river ports of the Rance, as far as Dinan, and then to northwestern Brittany between 2026 and 2027. Here again, the aim is to have a single operator for each major navigation basin.
