BASIC PROJECT DATA Full project title: Short project title: (acronym) Improvement of navigation in the joint Bulgarian-Romanian section of the Danube river from km 530 to km 520 Batin and from km 576 and to 560 Belene Project logo: Project website: Project ID: PA1A011 Need and added value for Danube Region Strategy: Objective(s) of project: The number of the bottom sills which serve to re-direct the river flow and regulate the water quantities is insufficient. The facilities are built in the region of Belene. One of them is located within the Belene island channel and is in good technical condition. The other one blocks the Milka island channel. It had an impact for a short period of time (for a period of 10 years) but due to the method of its construction it is not functional at the moment. For the part of the Danube downstream of the Iron Gates II the recommended minimal depth of the channel is 25 dm below the reference navigation and regulation level (RNRL), which ensures usage of up to 94%. The recommended minimal width of the navigation channel (at RNRL 25dm) amounts to 180 m with minimal radius of the curves when fairway turns 1000 m. With respect to these minimal technical parameters of the fairway, recommended by the Danube Commission and the eisting situation, it should be noted that the least available depth is the predominant factor affecting the navigational conditions as it determines the allowable draught of the vessels and hence the carrying capacity of the fleet. According to data supplied by the Eecutive Agency for Eploration and Maintenance of the Danube River the following minimal depths have been recorded for the five-year period 2006 to 2010: Belene island: least available depth of 16 dm and duration in which depth was under 25 dm of 392 days Batin island: least available depth of 17 dm and duration in which depth was under 25 dm of 262 days The banks and islands are subject to erosion due to the water flow and the unstable soil layers which often changes the direction of the fairway. The improvement of the navigation conditions in the Bulgarian section of the Danube river corresponds to the conclusions of the Report of the High Level Group on the Trans-European transport network, 27 June 2003 (Van Miert Report) for development of the Rhine-Main-Danube link. The optimization of the navigation conditions and increasing the level of safety will transfer a big part of the freight road and railway traffic to waterway, which is in compliance with the established transport policy of the European Union (the White Paper for EU transport policy till 2010).The transport costs as a whole are epected to reduce significantly (about 30%). The increasing of passenger and freight traffic along the inland waterways is a precondition for the renewal of the fleet and increasing of the number of the private transport operators. The main objective of the project is to ensure the fairway parameters recommended by the Danube Commission (to improve the navigational conditions) in two of the most critical sections of the Danube River and to secure the international navigation and ensure the passage of vessels throughout the whole year in these sections. The project should partly improve the riverbed and the river banks, including Page 1 of 5
islands. This will allow the river flow to be controlled, in a way that will secure free navigation in two of the most critical bottlenecks (but not only in them) in the joint Bulgarian-Romanian section of the Danube River, namely in the section between km 530 and km 520 Batin and the section between km 576 and km 560 Belene. Through the implementation of this project some economical, social and ecological results will also be achieved. These are: 1. Increasing the safety of the navigation 2. Decreasing of transport costs 3. Promoting the use of combined transport of freights and construction of new terminals 4. Employment during the implementation of the project for a period of about three years 5. Secondary effect of the project implementation will be the protection of the state territory (riverbanks and islands) from erosion. Planned project activities: Transboundary impact: Project beneficiaries / target groups: The main strategy for improvement of navigation includes implementation of the following measures: Limitation of the riverbed widening by bank protection at certain locations with erosion of banks and islands caused by the river flow which will not allow further appearance of shallows that could lead to general decreasing of depths; Control and limitation of the river flow by construction of groynes and bottom sills at certain locations and partial closing of some secondary branches (between a riverbank and an island) to average water levels and thus helping the natural processes of river deepening including its self-washing capacity; Performance of maintenance dredging at certain locations in the navigable part of the river as this measure is occasional and depends on the epected deposits accumulation mostly after a high water level period. The combination of engineering measures at some locations for avoiding the riverbed widening with minimal maintenance dredging volumes is the preferred strategy for improvement of the navigation conditions by the specialised administrations of Bulgaria and Romania. The project is a transboundary one and it will be implemented on the territory of Bulgaria and Romania. The activities will address the bottlenecks in the Danube under the responsibility of the two countries so that this part of the Lower Danube will be directly affected. Due to the fact that the improvement of the navigational conditions in the common Romanian-Bulgarian sector would lead to increasing of the inland waterway transport along the whole river, it could be considered that all the Danube riparian countries will be affected. Due to its transboundary character the project will benefit a wide range of stakeholders from different countries such as shipping companies, skippers, transport and logistics companies etc. STATUS AND TIME FRAME Current project phase: (please tick a bo) Definition (e.g. project idea, abstract) Preparation (e.g. project proposal, feasibility study) Implementation Page 2 of 5
Completion Start date: 2016 End date: 2019 Notes: The delay of the project Technical assistance for the improvement of the navigation conditions on the Romanian-Bulgarian common sector of the Danube and accompanying studies, implemented by the Romanian side, makes us dependent during the implementation of our indicative programme within the Operational Programme on Transport. In 2012, the Romanian-Bulgarian Interministerial Committee was established in order to unite the efforts of both countries for improving the navigation conditions on the common sector of the river. Also an action plan for mutual projects was elaborated in which this project is included. According to the time frame set into the action plan the project will be implemented in the period 2016 2019. PROJECT TEAM Project leader: Eecutive Agency for Eploration and Maintenance of the Danube River (EAEMDR), Bulgaria Project partner(s): Contact person: Name: Pavlin Tsonev Organisation: Address: Eecutive Agency for Eploration and Maintenance of the Danube River Slavyanska Str 6, 7000 Ruse, Bulgaria Phone: +359 82 82 31 30 E-Mail: Website: appd@appd-bg.org www.appd-bg.org FINANCING* Available: (please tick a bo) Yes Partly No Total budget: 138,000,000 EUR (provisional, as the project will be financed under the Connecting Europe Facility for which an application form is currently not available) Source(s) and amount (potential sources for project ideas): (please tick a bo and provide further info) National/regional funds: EU funds: 20,700,000 EUR (State budget) 117,300,000 EUR (European Regional Development Fund) IFI loans: Private funds: Other: Page 3 of 5
PROJECT ENVIRONMENT Project cross-reference: Cross-reference ID(s): Strategic reference: Relevant legislation: Other: Improving navigation conditions on the Romanian Bulgarian common section of the Danube (rkm 845.5 375) PA1A027 Improving navigation conditions on the Romanian Bulgarian common section of the Danube (rkm 845.5 375) The project is defined as of a great significance in the Strategy for Development of the Transport Infrastructure of the Republic of Bulgaria to 2015 a part from the National Strategy for Integrated Development of the Infrastructure of the Republic of Bulgaria up to 2015. The navigation conditions for normal and safe navigation should be maintained according to the recommendations of the Danube Commission (DC) and the European Commission for Economics with the UN (UN ECE) in the contet of the Convention of the regime for navigation on the Danube River from 1948, Belgrade. The Agreement between the Governments of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Romanian Republic for maintenance and improvement of the fairway in the common Bulgarian-Romanian section of the Danube River, 1955 is considered as well. Currently, the project surveying activities are carried on (the Batin and Belene sections) within the Feasibility study performed by the Romanian side through the project "Technical Assistance for improvement of the navigation conditions in the Common Romanian Bulgarian section of the Danube river and accompanying studies" (project ISPA 2005 RO 16 P PA 002). Due to delays with the project JASPERS was involved and a road map was elaborated. A Gap Analysis will be performed by the end of July 2013. EUSDR EMBEDDING Relation to other Priority Areas of the Danube Region Strategy: (please tick a bo) PA1b: To improve mobility and multimodality Road, rail and air links PA02: To encourage more sustainable energy PA03: To promote culture and tourism, people and people contacts PA04: To restore and maintain the quality of waters PA05: To manage environmental risks PA06: To preserve biodiversity, landscapes and the quality of air and soils PA07: To develop the knowledge society through research, education and information technologies PA08: To support the competitiveness of enterprises, including cluster development PA09: To invest in people and skills PA10: To step up institutional capacity and cooperation PA11: To work together to promote security and tackle organised and serious crime EUSDR COMPLIANCE Page 4 of 5
Compliance with targets of the Danube Region Strategy: (please tick a bo) Compliance with actions of the Danube Region Strategy: (please tick a bo) Affiliation to thematic working group of Priority Area 1a of the EUSDR: (please tick a bo) Increase the cargo transport on the river by 20% by 2020 compared to 2010. Solve obstacles to navigability, taking into account the specific characteristics of each section of the Danube and its navigable tributaries and establish effective waterway infrastructure management by 2015. Develop efficient multimodal terminals at river ports along the Danube and its navigable tributaries to connect inland waterways with rail and road transport by 2020. Implement harmonised River Information Services (RIS) on the Danube and its navigable tributaries and ensure the international echange of RIS data preferably by 2015. Solve the shortage of qualified personnel and harmonize education standards in inland navigation in the Danube region by 2020, taking duly into account the social dimension of the respective measures. To complete the implementation of TEN-T Priority Project 18 on time and in an environmentally sustainable way. To invest in waterway infrastructure of Danube and its tributaries and develop the interconnections. To modernise the Danube fleet in order to improve environmental and economic performance. To coordinate national transport policies in the field of navigation in the Danube basin. To support Danube Commission in finalising the process of reviewing the Belgrade Convention. To develop ports in the Danube river basin into multimodal logistics centres. To improve comprehensive waterway management of the Danube and its tributaries. To promote sustainable freight transport in the Danube Region. To implement harmonised River Information Services (RIS). To invest in education and jobs in the Danube navigation sector. Waterway infrastructure and management Ports and sustainable freight transport Danube fleet River Information Services Education and jobs OTHER RELEVANT ISSUES Project requirements: This is a cross-border project which is a basic precondition for the need of its joint implementation with the Romanian side. EGTS is foreseen in order to manage the project. Page 5 of 5