Reconstruction and Improvement of the Sava River in Croatia

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NEED AND ADDED VALUE FOR THE DANUBE REGION STRATEGY: The Sava River is a right side tributary of the Danube in Belgrade. The river is 945 km long and drains 95,719 km² of surface area. It flows through four countries: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, and Serbia. The Sava River is classified as an international waterway class IV from the border of the Republic of Serbia (km 211) to Sisak (km 594). Currently, the Sava river waterway does not meet the required navigation parameters of international waterway class IV and does not allow for smooth navigation on 300 days/year for vessels with a maximum draft of 2.5 metres. In view of the continued recovery of the economies in the region, it is obvious that the need for rehabilitation of waterway transport on the Sava River becomes particularly important. Not only because of its contribution to economic growth, but also because it is an environmentally-friendly and sustainable mode of transport with extraordinary potential and because its development is in line with European transport policy, namely the main objective of upgrading the Sava river waterway to navigability Class IV along the entire route. The critical section between Jaruge and Novi Grad is the largest obstacle for navigation on the whole river Sava from Sisak to Belgrade. Namely, this sub-section is under all criteria for navigability class II, while the need for the whole river is to be upgraded to class IV. In this section the Sava constitutes the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Hercegovina which makes this specific project a transnational initiative. Improving the physical capacity of the Sava river waterway is necessary and will contribute to the improvement of mobility and multimodality in the Danube Region. At the same time, it will contribute to the increase of river transport, to the removal of obstacles to navigability and to the establishment of effective waterway infrastructure management in the Danube region. OBJECTIVE(S) OF THE PROJECT: The main objective of the project is the integration and modernization of the Croatian infrastructure within the Trans-European Transport Network. As an international waterway, the Sava river does not meet the navigability criteria for the European inland waterways as provided in the AGN Agreement, since it should enable safe navigation for vessels of class IV for 300 days per year. The project aims at implementing the “Fairway Rehabilitation and Maintenance Master Plan of the Danube and its navigable tributaries” by solving the bottlenecks on the defined river stretch. CONDUCTED AND PLANNED PROJECT ACTIVITIES: In January 2014 the feasibility study and the preliminary design for rehabilitation of the two critical sections of the Sava River waterway “Jaruge – Novi Grad” and “Puska – Preloščica” (project PA1A135) have been completed. For the Jaruge – Novi Grad sector the Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure launched a project for the elaboration of detailed designs for priority measures, in particular: - the elaboration of a main design for priority measures (works) along the critical section of the Sava from rkm 268 (Županja) to rkm 371 (Slavonski Brod); - the complete Environmental Impact Assessment for the river sections where priority works will be carried out, and, - the issuance of construction permits. The project duration is from January 2018 until December 2020. The project should prepare and initiate actual rehabilitation works to be conducted in follow-up projects. The technical measures will include: - Renewal of existing groynes and construction of new T-groynes, which will reduce the width of the waterway and increase the depth of the river. - Construction of bottom sills on the riverbed, which would increase the water level. - Excavation of river material at places of smaller depth due to increased sedimentation. - Renewal of existing and construction of new revetments that will prevent bank erosion. TRANSBOUNDARY IMPACT: The Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina will benefit directly from the project, but also all shipping companies and industries in the Sava region will benefit from more reliable infrastructure. PROJECT BENEFICIARIES / TARGET GROUPS: - Industries in the Sava Region (especially steel, oil, fertilizer and agriculture production), - Shipping industries, - Ports, - Tourism, - Inland waterway authorities in the Sava riparian countries.

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