BASIC  PROJECT  DATA

Project ID: PA1A072

 

NEED  AND  ADDED  VALUE  FOR  THE  DANUBE  REGION  STRATEGY

The Serbian Inland Waterways Transport Network Master Plan included the preparation of a Master Plan for Inland Waterway Transport up to 2025 and the execution of three Feasibility Studies. The situation of the waterway transport system in Serbia required urgent action in order to rapidly restore past levels of traffic, which were affected by economic sanctions, the break-up of former Yugoslavia and the 1999 NATO bombings.

Priorities regarding IWW transport are also defined in the General Transport Master Plan for the Republic of Serbia which determines priorities for further development of transport infrastructure. Following the 1999 air bombing campaign, the capacity of Transport Corridor VII was reduced; bridges across the Danube River and other structures and ports were targeted, damaged and/or destroyed. As a result, the presence of UXO in the riverbed and on the river banks was a threat to safe navigation, health and safety, and to the environment.

 

OBJECTIVE(S)  OF  THE  PROJECT

This already concluded project aimed to:

• develop the full potential and the competitiveness of Serbia’s inland waterway transport sector for socio-economic development, in particular in the Danube basin;
• remove identified UXO in high priority areas and conduct an efficient and effective supervision of their removal from the fairway, in accordance with international regulations and standards.

Priority areas were selected by the Mine Action Centre, Plovput and the Ministry of Infrastructure. Those locations were verified in the course of the project.

 

CONDUCTED  PROJECT  ACTIVITIES

• Comprehensive assessment of the (at that time preliminary) results achieved in a simultaneously ongoing survey in order to get all necessary information by magnetic borehole detection accompanied by geo-radar and CPT-measurements, in preparation of a safe and effective recovery process.
• Identification of the concept of a safe recovery, defusing and disposal of UXO.
• Supervision of safe disposal of UXO and any contaminated material in line with good engineering & environmental practice.
• Quality assessment of the work performed with additional survey in order to certify the absence of UXO in all suspicious areas.
• Coordination with other Serbian authorities (Mine Action Centre of the Republic of Serbia – MAC, Directorate for Inland Waterways – Plovput, Ministry of Environment & Spatial Planning).

 

TRANSBOUNDARY  IMPACT

The sustainability of the project is reflected in the establishment of uninterrupted navigation conditions on the Danube in Serbia and the potential for increased transport capacity and reduced transport time as well as fewer river accidents, which should reduce costs.

The Republic of Serbia wants to become a reliable and recognized partner within the EU. Further, there was a large potential benefit to the EU in assisting in keeping this corridor functional as a guarantee for safe and efficient shipping.

 

PROJECT  BENEFICIARIES  /  TARGET  GROUPS

The beneficiary country is the Republic of Serbia. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy was the beneficiary of this project and is ultimately responsible for maintaining navigation through the work of Plovput, the Directorate for Inland Waterways. The agency responsible for the supervision and removal of unexploded ordnance (UXO) was the Mining Action Centre (MAC).

 

 

STATUS  AND  TIMEFRAME

Start date: 06/2010
End date: 12/2012
The project is already concluded.

 

 

FINANCING

Total budget: 2,696,235 EUR (for project works) and 788,400 EUR (for supervision of works)
EU funds: 3,484,635 EUR were funded by Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) – National Programme 2010 

 

 

PROJECT  TEAM

Project leader: SeaTerra GmbH (Geophysik & Kampfmittel Dienstleistungen GmbH – SeaTerra Geophysics & EOD services) / Germany
Project partner: Mull und Partner Ingenieurgessellschaft mbH / German (supervision of works)

Contact: Mining Action Centre
Address: Aljehinova 2, Belgrade / Serbia

 

 

PROJECT  ENVIRONMENT

PROJECT  CROSS – REFERENCE

The removal of UXO in Serbia was a sub-project of the project example in the EUSDR Action Plan
“To remove shipwrecks, bridges debris and unexploded weapons from the riverbed of the Danube”.

 

STRATEGIC  REFERENCE

Serbian strategic reference:

• Master Plan for IWW Transport in Serbia (2006)
• Serbian Transport Development Strategy for Period 2008-1015 (2008)
• General Master Plan for Transport in Serbia (2009)

 

RELEVANT  LEGISLATION

Serbian legal framework:

• Law on Navigation and Orts on Inland Waterways (2010)
• Law on Environmental Impact Assessment
• Law on Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment
• Law on Spatial Planning and Construction

International legal framework:

• Danube Commission Recommendations
• AGN (UNECE)

 

 

EUSDR  EMBEDDING

 

 

EUSDR  COMPLIANCE

 

 

OTHER  RELEVANT  ISSUES

PROJECT  REQUIREMENTS

The prevailing EU environmental standards and the ICPDR guidelines as well as the IMAS Standards (International Mine Action Standards) were applied for the performance of survey and recovery work.

 

 

META  DATA

Data provided by: Ivan Mitrovic (Plovput, Serbia) – 09.03.2012
Last update by: Thomas Hartl (viadonau, Austria) – 20.08.2013

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