September 2011: National Information Day in Serbia, September 2nd 2011

The WANDA Project Presented on Plovput Info Day in Belgrade

 Plovput Info Day on EU funded projects was held on 02^nd of September 2011, in Belgrade. The goal o the event, organized by the Directorate for Inland Waterways, was to present achieved results and future plans for improvement of navigation conditions on the Danube River.

 The whole day event was held in the conference room of Plovput, gathering 45 participants representing identified stakeholders, including donor (Delegation of EU to the Republic of Serbia), policy makers and governmental institutions (Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, Ministry of Environment, Mining and Spatial Planning, Serbian European Integration Office, Jugoregistar, Republic Hydro meteorological Service of Serbia, etc), IWW users (Boat Masters Association of Serbia, shipping companies), Waste reception company Delta Kladovo, Serbian Chamber of Commerce, RIS users (Iron Gate navigation lock, Customs), educational and research institutions (Jaroslav Cerni Institute, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering of the University of Belgrade, School for Shipping, Shipbuilding and Hydro-building), NGOs, etc. The event had a strong international component, as the representatives of our project partners took part, including via donau - Austrian Waterway Company, Witteveen Bos, IC Consulenten, Selex Sistemi Integrati.

The following projects were presented at this event: NEWADA (Network of Danube Waterway Administrations), WANDA (Waste Management for Inland Navigation on the Danube), Implementation of RIS in Serbia, as well as Preparation of Documentation for River Training Works on the Danube River in Serbia.

The subject of the second session was the WANDA project. Mr. Berger, via donau,  gave the overall presentation of the project, focusing on international coordination in waste management for inland navigation, pilot activities on the Upper and Lower Danube, and the internationally coordinated Financial Model for oily and greasy ship waste.  After that, Mr. Mitrovic, the project coordinator from Plovput, presented the role of the Serbian partner on the project, including national ship waste management concept, and potential use of River Information Services (RIS) for waste management.

Active discussion followed, crossing different opinions on waste management issues. Representative of the Ministry of Environment, Mining, and Spatial Planning said that international legislation for waste management for inland navigation is needed, in order to establish obligatory conditions and course of action in this field. Mr. Gencic, the director of the Delta Company from Kladovo (eastern Serbia), announced the ceremonial opening of the newly built waste reception and recycling facility on the Danube River (scheduled for 13^th of September 2011), the first of its kind in Serbia. At the end of the session, the follow-up plans for the WANDA project were presented.

Participants of the event concluded that potential for further development of Inland waterway navigation (IWW) exists in Serbia, as well as along the Danube River. They supported the improvement of navigation conditions on international IWWs in Serbia, especially on the Danube River, the Pan-European Transport Corridor VII.