Bucharest-Danube Inland Waterway – the Missing Link

Creating a waterway link between Bucharest, the capital of Romania and the Danube waterway was the subject of concerns over the last decades of the nineteenth century. The paper presents the opportunity to continue the started works of connecting the Bucharest Municipality with the Danube River through a waterway (Va class) with the shipping capacity of more than 24 million tones/year.

Transcript

1. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland Bucharest - Danube Inland Waterway - the Missing Link September 19,2016 1
2. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland • Danube River (2588km navigable lenght,1075 km in Romania) – Sulina Canal - Danube Delta - Black Sea (class VII); • Danube - Black Sea Canal (65km) (class VIc); and Poarta Alba - Midia Navodari Canal (31km) (class Va); • Bega Canal (44km up to the serbian border-confluence DTD Canal) (class II); • Prut River upstream Giurgiulesti (border with R.Moldova) (class II); Romanian IWT unified and integrated system September 19,2016 2
3. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland • waterway link between Bucharest - Danube and the IWT system of the trans-European navigation (direct connection with Belgrade, Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Frankfurt, Duisburg, Rotterdam) with shipping capacity of more than 24 million tones/year; • key project from Romania since late 19th century,not yet completed; September 19,2016 3
4. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland • conceived and partly implemented with the contribution of several generations of Romanian specialists; • 1880 "sketch - project" prepared by the engineer Nicolae Cucu to build a waterway between Bucharest and Oltenita port ( confluence Danube- Arges rivers; • 1920 detailed studies and surveys; • 1929 Romanian Parliament Law 2740 to build the Bucharest-Danube Canal by concession to a Europe- Romanian Group of Banks managed by eng. D. Leonida; Historical facts September 19,2016 4
5. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland 1927 Energia Magazine,presentation by electrical eng.Dimitrie Sturza September 19,2016 5
6. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland September 19,2016 6
7. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland • 1933 crisis conditions and 2nd WW stoped the project; • 1982 new design with direct objective floods protection of Arges River (1970 extreme floods) and link to Northern Europe via Rhine-Main-Danube Canal also built then; • 1986 construction works beginning; • 1990 canal building stopped, although 60% completed; September 19,2016 7
8. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland The Project
 ▪ 73 km waterway on Arges river and 31 km on Dambovita river branch; ▪ minimal rectifications the natural watercourse of the rivers; September 19,2016 8
9. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland • 5 locks with hidropower units to accomodate the 61m level difference (Bucharest-Danube); • canal cross-section was calculated to transit high floods (1% and 0.1% with discharge values Q = 2,350 m3/s NH4 section and Q = 2,820 m3/s NH1 section) rather than navigation conditions for the design vessel/convoy; • design convoy are L=106.80 m, B=11.00 (11.40) m, T max=3.00 m; minimum radius = 1000 m; locks length =130m; width=12.5 m; depth on the sill =4.75 m; • navigation use for flowrates on the Arges river lower than 500 m3/s (>discharge with locks and navigation stop); • container ships 200 TEU capacity / tankers up to 2000 t / passenger ships up to 150 persons / car carriers up to 600 cars / Ro-Ro ships for up to 72 loaded trucks; September 19,2016 9
10. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland Arges longitudinal profile September 19,2016 10
11. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland Dambovita longitudinal profile
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12. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland Cross sections
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13. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland The Ports
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14. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland September 19,2016 14
15. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland Traffic forecast Bucharest – Danube logistic zone
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16. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland In situ works status
 • works started 1986 were suspended in 1990 with a completion of about 60% , although under conservation, are subject to a natural degradation process; September 19,2016 16
17. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland September 19,2016 17
18. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland Waterway completion benefits
 • shipping of goods and passengers on a Va class waterway which may accommodates "Large Rhine ship" with max capacity of 2000 t, currently navigating the Danube and to the Rhine-Main-Danube canal up to a traffic of 24 million tones/year; • full advantage of new logistic zones and possibly industrial parks/ residential developed near the ports; • green electricity powered by MHC located in each navigation complex by exploiting the difference level of about 13.00m between canal pounds.The 4 hydropower plants (Copaceni, Gostinari, Budesti, Oltenita) have 24 MW installed capacity and the energy produced is 109.75 GWh/year; • floods risk protection for Arges River region for floods up to 0.1% probability of exceeding; September 19,2016 18
19. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland • irrigation and water supply via water transport systems in agricultural areas of about 150,000 ha. Vegetables and flowers are already produced in greenhouses; • fish culture by creating bodies of water (1,250 ha) populated with local fish (sport or industry); • tourism by integrating the Romanian capital Bucharest (pop. 2,000,000) in the european Danube cruise circuits and new marinas; • positive ecological impact by generating a green corridor along the Arges River (developing , preserving and protecting the existing forests) and erosion control; September 19,2016 19
20. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland Costs & Funding
 • reviewed project costs to complete engineering works for navigation and other uses is 870.000.000 euro ; • price per km of new waterway is extremely cost- effective,corresponding to a highway built under difficult geological features; • new public-private partnerships; • private partners; • joint project Romania - European Union; September 19,2016 20
21. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland Conclusions
 • long-term regional development project, with multiple economic and social influences especially by the development of objectives and related activities; • stimulation and development of shipping, production of green electricity, organic farming, environmental protection and solving pollution issue related to the Arges and Danube rivers; • a high-capacity transport that is more environmentally sound than the rail transport and far less polluting than the road transport; • direct access to the sea port of Constanta, and through the Rhin – Main – Danube Canal, to the European networks of navigation waterways; • production of renewable electric power in hydroelectric power stations; September 19,2016 21
22. WCC 2016 Inverness,Scotland • potable water supply for local residential areas and irrigation of farm lands with total surface of up to 150,000 ha; • fish and wildlife conservation , on a surface of about 1,250 ha; • development of marinas and touristic areas; recreation benefits for residents and visitors; hub for economic, tourism and recreational activity; • positive ecological influences on the microclimate (water surface of 4,000 ha in area with rainfall deficit) and assisting with regenerating certain areas south of Bucharest; catalyst for economic growth; • evolving place of canals from industrial transportation routes to sites of recreation and leisure to change the policy makers concepts for the early 21st centuries; September 19,2016 22