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| LOBBY FOR THE DANUBE 6/08/08 |
| (2008-08-06) |
| Last updated: 2008-08-07 11:44 EET |
Less than 12 per cent of the Danube's transport capacity is being used today, although water transport is the least expensive. The president of Romania lobbied for a change in this respect.
Statistical data regarding the Danube are quite impressive. This is Europe's second longest river, after the Volga, and the only one on the continent to flow eastwards. The Danube originates in the Black Forest Mountains in Germany, and after flowing some 2,860 km, it empties into the Black Sea, via a delta located mostly on Romanian territory. Apart from these two countries, the Danube passes through Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, the Republic of Moldova, Slovakia, Ukraine and Serbia, collecting tributaries from another seven states, and crossing four capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade.
With so much to boast, the river would have been expected to be swarming with ships, considering that water transport is the least expensive and that in 1992 the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal was completed, which connects the Black Sea to the North Sea. An experienced long-haul captain and a transport minister in five governments, the president of Romania Traian Basescu is disappointed to see the river inadequately capitalised on. Particularly since Romania has 23 river and sea ports. But the president admits that they are in a less than perfect condition:
“What defines these 23 ports is their poor technological standard. These ports require substantial investments, if they are to become modern and efficient. And the aspect that needs reorganising is the one related to the operation of vessels: the loading and unloading of ships, the transfer of cargo containers and so on.”
This is why president Basescu lobbied for investments in the Danube transport infrastructure, during a meeting with Austrian businessmen held Tuesday on a cruise ship in the Romanian section of the river. This is particularly important to Romania, which has management responsibilities over 1,075 km of the Danube. The president believes that Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Austria and Germany have solutions to turn the river into a more environment-friendly and efficient waterway. Although the river connects the Dutch ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp to the Romanian port of Constanta, via the Danube-Rhine-Main and Danube – Black Sea canals, only up to 12 per cent of the Danube's transport capacity is used at present.
While political reasons could be put forth before Romania and Bulgaria's EU accession, at present such reasons no longer exist, Traian Basescu argues. Moreover, under infrastructure development and upgrade programmes funded by the European Union in Romania, about 250 million Euros are earmarked for the improvement of navigation on the Danube. Which is enough to bring the Romanian section of the river in line with navigation safety standards by 2013.
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