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the seafront. ‘‘These projects were, and still constructed on the 4 reclaimed hectares. Exploiting the Principality's limitations means
are, true technical achievements: the Larvotto All of these construction programmes have that travel can be carried out underground.
artificial beach was the first to be created in the profoundly changed the layout of Monaco. "Every day, the Principality doubles its
Mediterranean, and its protective structures "Today, underground Monaco represents population with the arrival of tourists and
have proved remarkably effective for over 50 more than 3.5 million m of infrastructure, commuters. To absorb this inflow - often by car
3
years, requiring very little maintenance; the in short, a State under the State" comments - we need to offer an adequate supply of public
Spélugues complex overlooks two major traffic Jean-Philippe Hugron. It all stems from the car parks (to date, more than 15,000 spaces
arteries in the Principality and rests partly on fact that “the Principality needs space for are available in 40 different car parks) and to
piers above the sea; the Grimaldi Forum is less lucrative activities, as well for facilities avoid congestion on the city's main roads"
built two-thirds below sea level, to a depth and infrastructures that are necessary to the specialist explains, before adding: “Six
of -20 metres, and has a permanent pumping keep the city running smoothly: sewage kilometres of underground tunnels also ensure
system to ensure the building's stability against treatment, refuse processing, parking and the automated collection of household waste,
hydrostatic pressure’’ he explains. storage of all kinds". So, in the eyes of transported at a speed of 70 km/h directly into
The largest extension out to sea (22 hectares) town planners and developers, Monaco has the incineration plant, which, as part of a policy
was constructed at Fontvieille. The area another, equally invisible reserve: a deposit of ‘‘waste recovery’’, helps to produce energy, in
took more than 30 years to develop, until the of space... underground. particular for the Principality's urban heating”.
Fontvieille Shopping Centre was completed
in 1993, followed by the latest housing
development in 2000. At the same time, Port
Hercule underwent another expansion with
the arrival of the semi-floating seawall (a
structure weighing 160,000 tonnes, 352 m
long, 28 m wide and 19 m high!) attached to
a new quay. This meant extending the site
by 3.7 hectares.
At the end of the 2000s, plans for an offshore
extension resurfaced. Monaco requires
between 300,000 - 350,000 m² per decade
to meet its needs... Although the project for
a 17-hectare district reclaimed from the sea
(the result of an international competition)
collapsed with the financial crisis of 2008,
Mareterra is coming to life. Designed as an
extension of the existing coastline, from the
Grimaldi Forum to the Formula 1 Grand Prix
tunnel, ‘‘Mareterra will integrate perfectly with
our coastline and in a few years’ time will be
seen as a natural extension of our territory,’’
predicts Prince Albert II.

Monaco Underground

In the past, Monaco has also gained precious
square metres underground. Notably with the
construction of an underground railway line,
which began in the early 1960s before being
resumed at the end of the 1990s, resulting
in transferring the train station to the deep
valley of Sainte-Dévote (with a 13-level car
park)... But above all with the urbanisation of
the land that was consequently abandoned
by the SNCF. From 1999 onwards, the new
underground railway line in Monaco has
enabled a vast urban renewal operation: the
creation of new public and private buildings © Jean-Philippe Hugron
and improvements to the Principality's urban
network. 135,000 m² of floor space were

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