Don’t skimp on European waterways’ infrastructure investment

Current EU plans for European transport have earmarked EUR 31bn (US$39.6bn) between 2014 and 2020 as part of the Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T) programme to develop communications across the European continent, improve the network of European waterways and create new links under the Connecting Europe facility.

In order to realise the full potential of waterways, the sector will need at least 20% of this amount (EUR 6bn) to boost efficiency by clearing bottlenecks (such as increasing the capacity of smaller locks), and link existing routes such as joining the Seine and Scheldt to create a freight corridor between Paris and the Antwerp/Rotterdam area.

Karin De Schepper, INE director general, said: “EUR 6bn investment in waterways will go some way towards creating a fully integrated inland waterway network. It represents a fraction of the cost of the work needed to achieve the equivalent result on the roads or railways. Furthermore, the benefits from waterways reach way beyond transport, making a positive contribution in areas such as climate change, environment & bio-diversity, energy saving, water supply and leisure.