Save the Danube

June 29th is marked as Danube Day in 14 countries who signed the International Convention for the Protection of the Danube in order to raise awareness for preserving the river and to appeal for the rational use of water resources. Day of the Danube river was established in 2004. This year, Serbia will organize a series of events in 27 cities under the slogan ‘’Save the Date’’.

The Danube is about 2,850 kilometers long and it is a second longest river in Europe, right after Volga. It passes through several European capitals, before it passes through the delta into the Black Sea in Romania and Ukraine. The Danube River through Serbia runs in the length of 588 kilometers, from Bezdan to Timok, and the watershed of its basin consists of 120 tributaries, some of which are the largest in the territory of Serbia - Sava, Tisa and Drina.

The Danube River is the part of the extremely important European corridor Rhine-Danube, and allows navigation of the largest river cruisers and the arrival of a large number of tourists. European Union recognized the Rhine-Danube Corridor as one of the nine multimodal Trans-European transport corridors (TEN-T) networks and  it is the only direct connection between Central Europe and the Black Sea. The Danube as such, is the only river in Serbia, which is also a European corridor.

Port Governance Agency continuously improves the port area, paying particular attention to the development of the advantages of this area on the Danube.

Cargo traffic resulted in 10.5 million tons of goods being reloaded in 2017, representing a record quantity so far recorded. In the nine ports located on the Danube - Apatin, Bogojevo, Backa Palanka, Novi Sad, Belgrade, Pancevo, Smederevo and Prahovo, almost 93% of the total cargo reloading on the rivers in Serbia was recorded. Cereals, ores and bulk cargo are most common goods reloaded in the Danube ports in Serbia.

The significance of the Danube for Serbia is also reflected in the announced infrastructure projects, including the construction of the terminal for bulk and general cargo in the port of Smederevo and certainly the most important strategic project - the construction of the new port in Belgrade.

When it comes to passenger traffic, there was a steady increase of around 5% annually, and during the nautical season 2017, almost 1000 port calls and 132 thousand passengers were recorded.

Port Governance Agency, in the cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), launched the project "Awake the Danube" with the aim to develop domestic liner traffic and cruising on international passenger terminals on the Danube in the eastern Serbia. The project brings to light the development of the cities of this region, which will be part of the European tourist map and settle the Republic of Serbia among European leaders in naturist tourism.

"Awake the Danube" promotes the natural and cultural heritage of Smederevo, Donji Milanovac, Kladovo, Golupac, Kostolac and Veliko Gradiste and opportunities opened by the development of passenger traffic and tourism of the lower Danube region. The goal is to offer a set of sights and activities in the cities that lie on the shores of this magnificent river and to point out their inextricable link and further potential.

Agency opened passenger terminals in Smederevo and Kladovo in 2017, and from April 2018 the international passenger terminal in Golupac is welcoming foreign tourists.

In the next nautical season, Belgrade will receive its international passenger terminal on the Danube, in Zemun. Opening of this important passenger terminal will double the number of cruisers and tourists in the capital city.

Port Governance Agency is also participating in two international projects - "Danube SKILLS" and "DAPhNE". The projects aim to build institutional capacities, strengthen the promotion of Danube navigation and to create a balanced Danube port system, which will be multimodal hubs and catalysts for economic development.
One of the priorities of the Agency is the preservation of the environment in ports and on rivers, and after the preparing off the Study on waste management on rivers, conditions will be created for launching significant projects and activities.

The task of all relevant institutions and citizens of Serbia in the coming period is to take care of the potentials of this important European river. Save and awake the Danube.