Waterway Integrated Management

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NEED AND ADDED VALUE FOR THE DANUBE REGION STRATEGY: The Danube river is the main waterway artery of Central and South-Eastern Europe and could function as key axis for logistics, supporting regional development and economic growth in ten riparian countries. It also connects the markets of Central & Western Europe with the Black Sea region, via Constanta Port and the maritime seaports on the Danube. Several key industries of the region strongly depend on the Danube waterway for competitive logistics which is a pre-condition for safeguarding jobs in the region. Over the last two decades, the reliability and cost-effectiveness of Danube transportation deteriorated tremendously which lead to a significant reduction of the transport volumes, reaching less than 40 million tons per year. The deterioration of the fairway situation resulted in blockages of several days and even weeks of the fairway in the years 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015, causing millions of Euros losses for the navigation sector and their customers. Major industries like steel, agriculture, construction, chemical, etc. suffered from increases in logistics costs as well as from the interruption of supply chains, which reduced their economic performances as well as their perspectives. The severest restrictions to navigation occurred on the Lower Danube, in the common Romanian – Bulgarian Danube sector. Three locations are especially critical: Calafat, Bechet and Corabia. Capital dredging measures are planned for each of these sections. The project is closely interlinked with FAST Danube and FAIRway Danube. Only after the approval of the environmental impact assessment done within FAST Danube works planned within SWIM may start. The project is an important step towards the removal of bottlenecks along the Danube and the transnational cooperation between both Waterway Administrations – River Administration of the Lower Danube Galati – AFDJ and Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River – IAPPD. OBJECTIVE(S) OF THE PROJECT: General objective: The proposed project SWIM aims at removing three critical bottlenecks and strengthening the cooperation between AFDJ and IAPPD as a preparatory step for future joint measures on the Lower Danube. Specific objectives: - Elaboration of the measures, based on the necessary actions for fairway rehabilitation and ports access. - Identify the technical resources for measures implementation and improving the safety of navigation. - Development of an integrated concept for measures implementation. - Procurement of the technical equipments for fairway rehabilitation. - Remove the bottlenecks and open a new and sustainable fairway trajectory. - Improve the port access. - Increase the safety of navigation in the bridge areas. - Test an innovative solution for safety of navigation. - Proposal for enhanced procedure framework used for fairway rehabilitation actions. The project is in close cooperation with the CEF Actions “FAIRway Danube” and “FAST Danube”. Both waterway Administrations – River Administration of the Lower Danube Galati AFDJ Galati and Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River IAPPD – are partners in both CEF Actions. PLANNED PROJECT ACTIVITIES: The project is structured into six activities, as follow: Activity 1: Project Management and dissemination. SuAc. 1.1: Project Management. SuAc. 1.2: Project Dissemination. Activity 2: Integrated Concept to ensure a good Navigation status. SuAc. 2.1: Data analyses and establishment of a priority list of measures to ensure good navigation status. SuAc. 2.2: Development of integrated concept to ensure good navigation status. Activity 3: SWIM – SMART IT Platform. SuAc. 3.1: Public procurement for the design and deployment of the IT platform. SuAc. 3.2: Design and development of the IT platform. SuAc. 3.3: Deployment of the IT platform. Activity 4: Procurement and delivery of technical equipment to carry out capital dredging works and enhanced safety of navigation. SuAc. 4.1: Procurement of vessels and equipment to carry out capital dredging works and enhance the safety of navigation. Activity 5: Pilot capital dredging measures for improved navigation status. SuAc. 5.1: Pilot project implementation. SuAc. 5.2: Assessment of the the effectiveness of the pilot measures. Activity 6: Evaluation and recommendations. SuAc. 6.1: Evaluation of the pilot measures. SuAc. 6.2: Joint framework of cooperation between Romania and Bulgaria. TRANSBOUNDARY IMPACT: The proposed project will have a positive impact for shipping companies and their industrial clients (transport users) by ensuring cost-effective and safe water depths at a guaranteed minimum standard. Major industries of the region will benefit from more reliable and less costly waterborne logistics chains. The improvements of the fairway will also have indirect and induced positive economic effects arising e.g. from increased economic activities in the Danube inland and seaports, including the Port of Constanta. The project will strengthen the cooperation between Romanian and Bulgarian waterway administration by an increased innovative approach and technical capacity on fairway rehabilitation. The project can be considered as a necessary preparatory step to the future works of river engineering on the common Romanian – Bulgarian Danube sector. In addition, the project will: - Ensure and sustain economic and social development of regions located in the Danube River basin, in compliance with environmental protection requirements. - Stimulate cargo flows in the region thus improving the economic development of the area. - Stimulate the development of a sustainable transport system in the area in order to ensure inter-modality (railway transport, road transport, maritime and inland waterway transport) - Significantly contribute to the objective of the EUSDR to increase cargo transport on the Danube by 20% until the year. PROJECT BENEFICIARIES / TARGET GROUPS. Beneficiary: River Administration of the Lower Danube Galati (AFDJ Galati) and Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River (IAPPD), Ministry of Transport from Romania, and local authorities, port administration. Direct target groups: actors in charge with the development of inland waterways and ports, decision-makers on political and administrational level, national and regional authorities (waterways and ports authorities). Indirect target groups: actors that will benefit from and contribute to the operation and services of Danube fairway such as: river & maritime ports and logistical centres, freight forwarders, shippers, shipping companies, terminal operators, chambers of commerce, logistics associations, railway associations, operators of combined transport, and many other stakeholders from manufacturing sector as well as cargo trading businesses.

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