Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications

The Executive Director of Executive Agency "Maritime Administration" Captain Georgi Tsvetkov opened The Third National Stakeholder Forum on "Development of ports on the Danube River” Project (DaHar).

The project is implemented under the Operational Programme for Cross-border Cooperation "South East Europe 2007 - 2013.”  Its purpose is to explore the potential of small and medium Danube ports (specialization and construction of containers and Ro-Ro port terminals), to develop a common Strategy for the promotion of transport logistics in the region and to improve the economic performance of the settlements on the Danube River.

The Head of the project by Maritime Administration, Captain Toni Todorov, director of the agency in Lom, presented the results of the project so far. The RIS system in Lom, which will support all BULRIS (management information system of ship traffic in the Bulgarian section of the river), was demonstrated. During the presentation the development plan for the port of Lom as an intermodal hub was presented and the Municipality of Silistra reported its contribution to the overall project implementation.

The Third National Forum was attended by representatives of the executive, professional associations and transport associations, businesses and others. The talks and discussions pinpointed that the main priority should be the improvement of navigation conditions in the Bulgarian section of the Danube River, which will help to ensure 300 days period of voyage in a year. For this purpose and for the solution of the problem there must be strong international cooperation.                       

The intentions for continuing the project with DaHar 2 were confirmed. DaHar 2 will complete the implementation - putting into practice the analyses and recommendations for the development of the ports involved in the project.