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Infrastructure: Oprescu: A Bucharest-Danube canal will boost economy in the entire region
The Bucharest-Danube canal is an integrated project must likely to boost the economy of the entire region, general mayor of Bucharest, Sorin Oprescu, told the conference ‘Building the Urban Future of the Danube Region', held in Vienna.
According to a release of the City Hall, he said that this project will make from the Lower Danube one of the most attractive and efficient regions of Europe.
‘A special project, but that we consider essential for the development not only of Bucharest, but of the entire region, is the one referring to the linking of the Romanian capital to the Danube through the Bucharest-Danube canal, the Bucharest-Giurgiu-Ruse-Sofia waterway following that to become real. Bucharest can and must be linked to other big capitals and urban centres in Europe. By using the Danube we can build a real European waterway network with direct access to the Constanta Port (eastern Romania), while ensuring thus the closure of the European multimodal logistic supply chain. The Bucharest-Danube canal may represent the first implementation of a multimodal solution south of the Danube', said the general mayor.
While referring to the EU strategy for the Danube region, he specified that it is ‘a way out of the wood and vital', considering the complex problems existing especially in the Lower Danube region.
'Only based on this project I can afford to believe that the economic and social gaps along the Danube's journey from Germany till it reaches the Black Sea can be reduced and, in the future, even eliminated', said Oprescu.
In his turn, the European Commissioner for Regional Development, Johannes Hahn, stated in a video message that the 2014-2020 time span will be decisive for the successful implementation of the European Strategy for the Danube Region.
No more than one month ago it took place in Bucharest the second annual conference focusing on the Strategy for Danube and also on the strategy that refers to the future problems in the macroregion. Everyone agreed that we are now talking about the implementation phase of the strategy, following that the 2014-2020 interval to be decisive in terms of giving new impulses to this strategy, mentioned Johannes Hahn.
Participating in the event there were, among others, Ulm City mayor, Ivo Gonner, who is also President of the Council of Danube Cities and Regions, Milan Ftacnik, Bratislava City mayor, Kurt Puchinger, coordinator of the Danube Strategy, Priority Axis 10, as well as other European officials.