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News 2015-07-11

Investments on the Odra River are underway

PLN 700 million will be spent on regulation of the Odra River only in the West Pomeranian region. A contract about the border Odra - "Umowa o Odrze Granicznej" - which has been singed recently between Poland and Germany should be seen as a chance to restore the river to its former significant economic position.   

Lake Dąbie /fot.: commons.wikimedia.com / Lake Dąbie /fot.: commons.wikimedia.com /
The contract has been signed in Warsaw by Maciej Grabowski, the Minister of Environment, and Alexander Dobrindt, the Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure in the presence of Ewa Kopacz and Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany. The contract is a part of the governmental project focused on updating the plans on water and flood risk management.  The negotiations lasted over ten years, and the value of all investments on the Polish side amounted to PLN 1.5 bn.
 
The contract is very significant for the western Poland - without it restoring the Odra river route would not be viable, and one needs to keep in mind how important is that line from the perspective of Szczecin-Świnoujście port and the broadly understood transportation industry. However, in order for the investments to produce the desired results, similar projects need to be carried out on the German side too.   
 
What investments are planned in our region? The Odra river will be deepened to obtain 1.8 meters of river depth which will make sailing possible and will facilitate the work of ice-breakers. In addition, groynes will be built and deepening works will be conducted on Lake Dąbie. All the tasks are to be performed by the Regional Water Management Council in Szczecin. 
 
When Odra becomes navigable again it will be possible to use barges for river transportation (the Odra River waterway is located within the Central European Transport Corridor - CETC-ROUTE65). However, to use the economic potential of the route to the full, it is necessary to construct a high railway bridge on the Regalica river - the West Pomeranian authorities take efforts to push it through.  
 
The contract also constitutes an important contribution to improvement of anti-flood protection, as it allows the West Pomeranian Executive Board for Land Reclamation and Water Equipment to carry out works in the Lower Odra region (financed from the World Bank’s funds), e.g. modernization of the floodbanks and the Krajnik pumping station.    
 
Investments on the Odra river additionally pose a great opportunity for West Pomeranian tourism, because they fit into the strategy of the project “West Pomeranian Sailing Route – network of tourist ports in West Pomerania”. 
 
AK
Tags: West Pomeranian (3) | Umowa o Odrze Granicznej (2) | Maciej Grabowski (2) | Szczecin-Świnoujście port (1) | West Pomeranian Sailing Route (1) | the border Odra (1) | transportation industry (1) | CETC-ROUTE65 (1) | Odra river (1) |
utworzono : 2015-07-11 19:22
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