Events back

The second discussion meeting on navigation issues, organized by Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BRCCI), will be held on 19.04.2018 at 13:30 in hotel Riga, Ruse. It will be attended by all stakeholders – real users of the river and representatives of the public regulatory bodies.

Why River Transport?
Because it is cleaner, quieter, less expensive.
And because the river is there, and we tend to forget that.

This example is often cited: A convoy of 6 barges on the Danube carries cargo in volume equal to as many as 400 trucks by land. Why do we not do this more actively then? Why is traffic on the Danube 10 times lower than on the Rhine? Why is transport, especially on the Lower Danube, so much more sparse? What are the main issues? Are there physical obstacles? Are there bureaucratic obstacles? Is there a political will? What are the possible solutions?

Two years ago, Serbia had zero interest in the Danube as a transport artery. For the entire period from 2005 to 2014, the Serbian state has invested EUR 18.5 million in measures to improve the inland waterway (Danube River). Nowadays, the Serbian government has an entirely new vision and is already implementing a program that foresees investment in river projects amounting to EUR 286.5 million between 2014-2024. The task they have set is to become one of the three Danube countries – leaders in safe and sustainable shipping. And they know that when they set the direction, the private sector will follow them. And where are we?

These and other similar issues will be discussed with representatives of the business and state authorities at the meeting in Ruse on April 19th, 2018 within the framework of the roundtable of project “DANTE – improving the administrative procedures and processes related to the Danube waterway transport”. The project enables us to consolidate efforts with partners from all other Danube countries so that the results of our work and feedback from you reach the responsible institutions and serve to make concrete decisions and measures!

We are expecting you!

Eleonora Ivanova – Chair of the Managing Board of BRCCI