{"id":3159311,"date":"2021-02-26T16:50:40","date_gmt":"2021-02-26T16:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webalkans.eu\/a-tide-of-prosperity\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T11:08:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:08:03","slug":"a-tide-of-prosperity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webalkans.eu\/en\/a-tide-of-prosperity\/","title":{"rendered":"A tide of prosperity"},"content":{"rendered":"\nA clean-up of sunken ships from the Second World War makes for safer Danube navigation and a boost for Serbia\u2019s economy\r\n\r\nThe Danube is the second-longest European river and flows through ten countries. Its entire course in Serbia (588 km) is navigable, but the Danube waterway is significantly narrower at the Djerdap gorge, due to the many vessels that were sunk there near the end of the Second World War.\r\n\r\nIn that section of the Danube, upstream of Prahovo port, the waterway is only 180 metres wide and the 23 sunken vessels narrow the waterway to just 100 metres. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mgsi.gov.rs\/sites\/default\/files\/Prior%20Information%20Notice_0.pdf\">A European Investment Bank-backed project to remove these sunken vessels<\/a>\u00a0is thus of great significance, because the obstacles under the water hinder navigation, especially when the water level is low. The first part of the project focuses on finding the right way to demine and remove dangerous substances from the vessels, as well as finding their exact locations.\r\n\r\n<h2><strong>\u201cThe investment will improve river traffic in Serbia, because the country loses up to \u20ac5 million per year due to unsafe navigation in this section of the Danube.\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n<h3><strong>Faster and safer Danube navigation<\/strong><\/h3>\nSome parts of the ships that have been lying on the bottom of the Danube for more than seven decades will be put on display, and the rest will be returned to Germany. This cleaning of the riverbed will make navigation in this part of the river far safer and faster as well as being an environmental improvement. The investment will improve river traffic in Serbia, because the country loses up to \u20ac5 million per year due to unsafe navigation in this section of the Danube, according to former Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Zorana Mihajlovi\u0107.\n\nThe project to remove the vessels will be financed by a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) on extremely favourable terms, in cooperation with the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.srbija.gov.rs\/sastav\/en\/10\/members-of-government.php\">Government of Serbia<\/a>.\n\n\u201cMaking navigation of the Danube safe again is the way we like to operate: removing obstacles, and tearing down visible and invisible barriers, in this case below the water surface,\u201d says Sem Fabrizi, the EU Ambassador to Serbia.\n\nEU integration is first and foremost a process of peace and unity. Since its foundation, the EU has been focused on overcoming the difficulties of the past and clearing the way for further integration. \u201cOur commitment is to make Serbia and the whole Western Balkans region part of this great adventure,\u201d says Fabrizi.\r\n\r\n<h2><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\">\u201cEveryone in this country is\u00a0emotionally attached to this river that\u00a0reveals\u00a0important\u00a0tales\u00a0of the\u00a0past.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<div>\n\n<b>About the EIB<\/b>\n\n<\/div>\n<div>\n\nThe European Investment Bank is the lending arm of the European Union. The EIB is the biggest multilateral financial institution in the world and one of the largest providers of climate finance, investing in a sustainable future for all.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<\/div>\n<div>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eib.org\/en\/projects\/regions\/enlargement\/the-western-balkans\/serbia\/index.htm\">The European Investment Bank<\/a><span class=\"apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>has been active in Serbia since 1977, having invested more than \u20ac6 billion in various projects. The biggest portion of funds\u2014almost 40% (\u20ac2.1 billion)\u2014has been invested in transport projects, with \u20ac165 million invested in the energy sector.\n\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<div>\n\nThe river represents\u00a0an invaluable natural\u00a0resource for\u00a0energy, food\u00a0and\u00a0drinking water, generating 22% of\u00a0the national\u00a0energy supply.\u00a0At\u00a0the same time, it stretches along a\u00a0key\u00a0navigation route, offering cost-efficient\u00a0transit opportunities\u00a0within\u00a0regional\u00a0and EU\u00a0markets.\n\nDubravka Negre, Head of the EIB in the Western Balkans, says that this project is important for the economic development of Serbia but is also of great historical significance.<span class=\"apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><strong>\u201c<\/strong>Everyone in this country is\u00a0emotionally attached to this river that\u00a0reveals\u00a0important\u00a0tales\u00a0of the\u00a0past,\u201d<span class=\"apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>she says.\n\nNegre adds that by\u00a0contributing\u00a0to the expansion of international economic ties, the river\u00a0reconnects\u00a0the\u00a0people of the\u00a0Balkans,\u00a0who share the same past.\u00a0Today,\u00a0after\u00a0many decades, they can meet on the same path\u00a0towards a new, common market\u00a0with\u00a0European values and prospects for a better tomorrow.\n\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A clean-up of sunken ships from the Second World War makes for safer Danube navigation and a boost for Serbia\u2019s economy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3159312,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[694],"tags":[],"area-of-cooperation":[417,413],"country":[250],"opportunity-type":[],"class_list":["post-3159311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","area-of-cooperation-environmental-protection","area-of-cooperation-transport","country-serbia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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