The European Agency for Reconstruction, together with Dutch engineering firm Witteveen+Bos, have finished work on a master plan and feasibility study for the Serbian inland waterways. The plan calls for rehabilitation and improvement of the Serbian Inland Waterways Transport Network (IWT), which includes the Danube, Sava and Tisa, as well as the Danube-Tisa-Danube Hydrosystem in the province of Vojvodina and the inland ports along the IWT network.

The plan portrays the present transport capacity of the waterway through the year 2025 to determine the activities needed to handle the traffic capacity on the IWT network and in the ports. Additionally, the present situation of the IWT in Serbia requires urgent action to restore past levels of traffic. This includes clearing unexploded ordnance and debris out of the waterways, as well as rehabilitating waterways and port facilities and updating obsolete equipment to achieve more efficient operation.

The Serbian IWT master plan will not stand alone, but should integrate with future master plans developed for other Danube countries. The plan follows Danube Commission regulations, which require several improvement works including dredging and construction of river training works, revitalisation of the Iron Gate locks, and implementation of a wastewater collection system along the river. In addition, recommendations are made for the legal and institutional framework to sustain IWT development.

Roberto A. Zanetti
is a senior project manager with Witteveen+Bos Consulting Engineers
responsible for the master plan and feasibility studies of the IWT master plan in Serbia.

Enrico Maglia
is programme officer for the IWT master plan and for the Transport Programme
at the European Agency for Reconstruction.