Published 2 Feb, 2016

Promoting the river Odra as missing component of the Baltic-Adriatic TEN-T core network corridor

Szczecin – While the TENTacle partners met in Karlskrona (Sweden), in order to launch the project, Marshals of the Western Poland sent an appeal for urgent planning and documentation actions for the Odra Waterway to the President of the Republic of Poland, the Prime Minister, members of government, parliamentarians and local government. The bottom-up initiative taken by the Baltic countries is aimed at promoting the river Odra as blue logistics corridor and as missing component of the Baltic-Adriatic TEN-T core network corridor.

The Baltic-Adriatic corridor is one of the few TEN-T corridors that do not include inland waterways despite the river connection between the Berlin and Szczecin urban and transport areas. The section between Szczecin and the junction with the Odra-Havel Canal is not part of the TEN-T core network.

Insufficient capacity and low interest among users is one of the reasons why the potential of the Odra River in intermodal sea-land transport chains is hardly exploited. For this reason the Westpomerania Region and Skåne Region wish to facilitate the interaction of the stakeholders on the final stretch of the Baltic-Adriatic Corridor and in its functional extension to the southern part of Skåne. They have the long-term perspective of establishing a network of cooperating logistics centres along this international transport axis.

The strategic approach is to strengthen the capacity of the stakeholders to meet increasing demands on volumes of international trade flows and increasing demands on sustainability. ”Regarding transport networks, we ougtht to think not only about of necessity of the regional authorities’ active participation in development activities, but also about already operating transport hubs, harbours, logistics centres and operators, and also universities and development centres – for their sales, connections and commercial activities that make up the situation on the common market”, states Marta Ciesielska, Senior Advisor, Marshal’s Office of the Westpomeranian Region.

To initiate the stakeholder dialogue and to achieve a change in attitude, there will be undertaken actions at the regional and national level in Poland, Sweden and Germany (Polish-German cross-border area). The first step will be a meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Constructions and the Ministry of Maritime Economy and Inland Waterways (Poland), which will be held on 25 of May 2016 in Warsaw. Westpomerania Region, City of Gdynia, Port of Gdynia will present the project to Polish stakeholders in the TENTacle project, aiming at getting a declaration of support from ministries dealing with transport issues (ministries established on 8th December 2015).

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