The countries in Eastern and Southern Europe are on their way to find their place in the "House Europe". The traffic of goods between these countries is constantly increasing and causes already the first jams on the Danube corridor. Modernisation of railways in the Eastern countries will still have a long time to go. On the other hand, road traffic between east and west has already taken on frightening dimensions and has reached economic, ecological and social limits in many places.

The Danube waterway offers new opportunities

From the transport policy point of view, measures have to be taken both in the potential access states and the EU to avoid that the Danube corridor is developing into a bottleneck for the economic upswing of the Danube region and for European integration. Therefore, the Danube waterway is seen as an opportunity to redirect the increasing goods traffic. In the past few years, the Danube was not involved in the general traffic increase, but it still has considerable capacity reserves and a high rationalisation potential, as has been proven.

Investigations have shown that the Danube could contribute considerably to solving the traffic problems of the Danube corridor with comparably moderate investment. The EU is also aware of the strategic importance of the Danube and has integrated the river as corridor VII in the planning of the trans-European transport network.

The development of the Danube waterway into a strong mainstay of European traffic requires close cooperation between public expenditure and private economy. Austria has initiated the Donau Transport Entwicklungsgesellschaft – "via donau for short" – to organise and intensify this cooperation.

The Vienna-based via donau is a technology and promotion company of the Federal Government, owned to 100 percent by the Republic of Austria. Via donau supports the government in implementing its policies of transport, technology and economics. At the same time, via donau also functions as a partner of the private transport business in the realisation of innovative logistics and technology projects. Its range of action also includes involved lobbying for the Danube Waterway combined with professional public relations work.

Via donau focuses its activities on establishing a scheduled line of combined transport to Southeast Europe and to the Black Sea. "Shipping on the Danube shall be revalued, i.e. special attention is to be paid to inter-modal transport chains with the pertinent services of logistics and information," says Manfred Seitz, managing director of the company, describing the range of action of via donau.

Practical help for transport companies

The support agency provides companies wishing to include the Danube more in their transport schedules with a series of helpful services. They include management and consulting services in projects. Via donau supports the project solicitors in the identification and definition of logistics and technology projects, in the formation of consortia, it takes over and looks after market analyses, it drafts business plans and marketing plans in cooperation with companies and also acts as "one-stop-shop" for all those companies seeking financial support for the practical realisation of projects of national and EU level. "This saves businesses the time-consuming and know-how-intensive work to obtain public funds and guarantees a maximum utilisation of possibilities of support," Seitz is convinced.

The national funds available for supporting Danube-related projects are presently being spent for the promotion programme for the combined goods traffic of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology and its technology programme "Logistik Austria". Via donau itself does not grant financial support, but upgrades the decisions for the Ministry and offers windup support.

Europe model project "Also Danube"

Via danube is presently elaborating a new programme for the Ministry to promote a scheduled combined traffic on the Danube. The Vienna Transport Agency Centranaut is, for example, planning a regular combined traffic on the Danube via Austria between Budapest and Deggendorf in Bavaria in cooperation with the Austrian Rail and the forwarding company Kühne & Nagel. This project deserving promotion shall start this summer.

The funds for the combined traffic support programme currently amount to ATS 75 million. These funds shall support the launching of new, but mainly innovative transport offers focusing on Eastern Europe between 2000 and 2004.

Practical work shall get started as soon as Brussels gives green light for the financial aid for the ambitious Danube project ”Advances Logistic Solutions for Danube Waterway” ("Also Danube"). "Via donau is responsible for the European-wide co-ordination of this project," is managing director Seitz proud to say. "This research and demonstration project shall show that the Danube can be integrated in logistical networks as a traffic route for the transport of goods. A number of single-demonstrations throughout Europe shall analyse how traffic information on the one hand can be linked with logistical information on the other to provide reliable transport information for all transport providers involved, as well as for ports, forwarding and transhipping companies, freighters, etc.," explains the expert.

25 partners from 6 countries are involved in this project; 11 of them come from Austria. They are investing ATS 57.8 million in this project and hope to receive ATS 26.5 million of support from the EU; the total project volume runs up to about ATS 93 million. Last year via donau submitted the project papers to the EU General Secretariat TREN requesting it to be granted financial aid. Practical demonstrations will begin as soon as possible and concrete results are expected in 30 months at the latest, e.g. the period for which the EU has granted support.
(Source: aqua press Int. 3/2000)
Josef Müller

Information & Contact:
via donau (Donau Transport Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH)
Donau-City-Strasse 1
A-1220 Vienna
Tel. +43 1 595-48 96
Fax +43 1 595 48-96 19