Danube-Morava-Vardar / Axios-Aegean Sea waterway and Silk Road Economic Belt Prof. Milena Nikolic, phd

Dragan Duncic, msc

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The idea of navigable waterway

• The idea to connect Danube River with Aegean Sea by construction of waterway trough valleys of Morava and Vardar / Axios River is based on their geographic and topographic characteristics and terrain advantages, as well as on the strategic importance of connecting the Northern, Western and Central Europe with the Mediterranean Sea

• Natural location of rivers Morava and Vardar / Axios and the possibility of their connection with the short section between the South Morava and Pcinja Rivers, provide excellent opportunities for the implementation of waterway from Danube River to the Thessaloniki port and Aegean Sea

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Historical background

• The importance of enabling navigation through Morava River was recognized even back in 1841, when this topic was brought to public after four postal ships sailed to Cuprija town and when it was proposed and published in "The Serbian newspaper“ that "Morava should be measured and the possibility of navigation considered”.

• After that, a "French - Serbian Society of navigation" was formed and it operated in period 1844 - 1864, organizing navigation on the Danube, Sava and Morava Rivers.

• In the period 1844 - 1864, “The French-Serbian society for navigation" joined the interests of the French “Major company for navigation", which was established by decree of Napoleon on 14th September 1850, and has launched number of activities to implement navigation on the Danube, Sava and Morava Rivers.

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Historical background • In July 1859 a French company addressed Prince Milos Obrenovic with a request for an

exclusive license for a period of thirty years of navigation by steamer on the Morava River. Although the Russians were interested in the right of navigation on the Morava River, the contract was yet signed with the French company on 18th September 1860.

• The company was interested for the establishment of navigation on the Danube, Sava and Morava Rivers, then for the Morava River regulation, for mines exploitation in Dobre and Majdanpek, as well as for a railroad project implementation needed for overcoming difficulties of navigation through the Iron Gate.

• Economic interest of the company was firstly exploitation of mines and sale of French salt in Serbia, where the regulation of the Morava River was not included, and thus the contract was canceled in 1864.

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Historical background

• Serbia has tried to make Morava River navigable in 1867, when the detailed examination was conducted in order to test its capabilities. Afterwards, a special small steamer named "Morava" was built for specific tests and measurements of the Velika Morava River, from its confluence to Cuprija town. The expedition started in 1869, and it was led by Anta Aleksic, an engineering officer.

• In 1879, "Bulletin of the Serbian Learned Society" published a book of Ante Aleksic "Morava- its present state and possibilities of navigation" which outlined the technical possibilities and economic feasibility of the navigation on the Morava River.

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Historical background • In 1904, proposal was made for building a waterway that would

connect the Danube with the Aegean Sea. In this regard, there

were tries for getting funds for the project from England and

Germany.

• In New Jersey (USA), in 1907, "American engineering company”

was formed that hired Professor Nicholas Stamenkovic from the

Technical Faculty of the University of Belgrade to make

preliminary studies, survey and general design of the waterway

route Morava-Vardar.

• At that time, the waterway from the Danube River via the Morava

River to the Aegean Sea was called the "line of European economic

gravity in relation to Suez.“

• In the past 100 years, there have been written number of articles,

studies and analyses of the possibilities of navigation on the

Morava River, as well as on its importance for Serbia. However,

due to lack of investments, no project was developed up to this

day. In 1973, group of United Nations experts wrote a report on

fairway Morava-Vardar / Axios, and the design institute "Ivan

Milutinovic" - PIM prepared a study on "The addition of the

conceptual design - fairway Morava-Vardar / Axios", in which they

showed the technical characteristics of the future waterway.

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Recent activities

• At the beginning of 2013, professor Milan Bacevic raised again the issue of integral Morava River regulation and construction of the navigable waterway from Danube River to the Aegean Sea, by signing the Protocol of understanding for the Preparation of the Viability Study for Construction of Waterway Canal Morava with the Company „China Gezhouba Group Corporation”.

• After data collection, research and numerous analyses, in October 2013 „China Gezhouba Group Corporation” submitted the Comprehensive planning report-Morava valley with recommendations for construction of waterway and preliminary evaluation of needed investments, proposing to the Government of the Republic of Serbia to consider project, and define next steps.

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Recent activities According to this Comprehensive planning report-Morava valley, as well as opinion of relevant Serbian experts, the project should include:

Flood protection

Construction of irrigation system for surrounding high quality agricultural land

Improvement of water supply system for surrounding cities and industries

Exploitation of hydro energetic potential and navigation

Tourism by developing nautical tourism, fishing and other related activities

Prevention of negative demographic processes in the South and Central Serbia

Environmental protection

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Technical characteristics of Canal The basic parameters of the waterway Morava-Vardar/Axios are:

Total length: 650 km

Waterway length in the Morava section: 346 km

Waterway length in the Vardar section 275 km

Length of the watershed: 30 km

Total length in regulated river flows of Morava and Vardar-Axios-Pcinja river: 484 km

Total length of lateral canals/waterways: 166 km

Length of the canal branch along Zapadna Morava river to the City of Kraljevo: 73 km

Length of the canal branch along Nisava river to the City of Nis: 15 km

Length of the canal branch along Vardar river to the City of Skopje: 35 km

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Characteristics Unit Parameter

Waterway class Ⅳ

Depth of water in the

middle cross-section m 4.00

Depth at water in the edge

of the bottom m 3.75

Maximum width at draft

level m 28.00

Side slope up to the height

of 1 m 1:4

Side slope over the height

of 1 m 1:3

Minimum radius of bends m 800

*АGN suggests class Vb for new

waterways

Kind of ship or

bargetow

Ship/barge

tow particulars

Self

propelled

cargo ship

Pushed

barge

Barge tow in

formation P+1+1

Overall length, m 80.00 70.00 86.50

One barge length, m 38.25

Pushboat length, m 10.00

Width, m 9.50 9.50 9.50

Draft, m 2.50 2.50 1.90

Carrying capacity, t 1350 1250 2x530 = 1060

Ships/barges

Technical characteristics

Waterway

Technical characteristics of Canal For the hydro-engineering purpose, the waterway was divided into five sections:

1. From Great Morava River confluence into South and West Morava Rivers confluence near the Stalac town, length 150 km - mostly using the natural riverbed of Great Morava River

2. From Stalac town, trough the riverbed of South Morava River to the watershed near Presevo town – length 108 km of natural riverbed of South Morava River and 89 km of the lateral canal

3. From watershed to the horizontal canal between two basins, length 30 km

4. From the end of horizontal canal on the watershed trough Republic of Macedonia to the Macedonian-Greece border, length 202 km (natural riverbed of Varadar and Pcinja rivers length 169 km and divided lateral canal with length 32 km)

5. From the Macedonian-Greece border to Thessaloniki and the Aegean Sea, length 73 km (natural riverbed of Vardar/Axios - length 57 km and lateral canal with length 17 km to Thessaloniki).

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Hydropower production

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Current situation/problems

The installed capacity of hydropower station in Serbia is accounting

for 30% of the total installed capacity

There are 25 hydropower stations in the Morava Valley with

installed capacity of 1,500 MW

The theoretical standing stock of water power resources in the main

stream of the Morava River is 350 MW

Proposed solutions/projects

5 hydro power plants on Great Morava river

The planned installed capacity in the South Morava Valley is 119

MW and average annual energy output is 476 GWh

The planned installed capacity in the West Morava Valley is 60 MW and average annual energy output is 237 GWh

Effects/benefits

After the completion of planned cascade, the installed capacity will be increased by 360 MW, and the generating

capacity will be increased by 1,428 GWh

The annual power generation benefit amounts to 85.7 million euros

Increasing the participation of renewable energy in energy production

Decreasing imported electric energy dependence

Flood protection

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Current situation/problems

At present, long section of water front in the Morava river is not protected by embankment or

dam, which makes large areas of agricultural districts under the threat of flood.

The existing embankments along main stream and branches of the Morava are old and with low

construction standards.

In case of an 100-year-occurrence flood of the South Morava, the total area of flood plains is

about 134 km2 (about 13,431 hectares) and the flood water will spill over some section of existing

embankment. In case of a 20-year-occurrence flood, the existing embankment can provide proper

protection and accordingly, the area of flood plains will be 90 km2 (about 9,085 hectares).

In case of a 100-year-occurrence flood of the Great Morava, the area of flood plains will be about

281 km2 and accordingly in case of a 20-year-occurrence flood, the area will be 189 km2.

In case of a 100-year-occurrence flood of the West Morava, the area of flood plains will be about

86 km2and accordingly in case of a 20-year-occurrence flood, the area will be 58 km2.

Proposed solutions/projects

It is planned to be realized by building a 5-km-long embankment between the highway and

railway bridge near Cuprija.

The embankment on the right of the river at Boboviste is severely eroded by flood and it is in

urgent need to be consolidated.

It is planned to build a 3 km-long embankment at Vitkovac to resist 50-year-occurrence flood.

On the stream about 70 km from the river mouth, it is planned to build an embankment about 3

km long along this stream.

The length of the accomplished embankment project will be 212 km.

Flood control reservoir (ST26) will be built.

Effects/benefits

Improvement of flood control system

Agricultural land protection and increase of agricultural production

Protection of settlements, infrastructure and other facilities

Neutralization of negative economic effects as a consequence of flooding

Water supply

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Current situation/problems

Total water consumption of the city reaches 232 million m3, of which, domestic

water takes up 50%, with an amount of 109 million m3, while annual industrial

water takes up 16%, with an amount of 31 million m3.

There are 23 reservoirs in the Morava Valley, mainly locates on its tributaries.

The water quality is mainly low, the distribution system is worn out, level of

connection of households to the central water supply system is low, water sources

protection is inadequate.

The unevenness of water supply.

Proposed solutions/projects

As forecasted, the annual water demand of cities in the Great Morava Valley will be

319 million m3 in 2020 and 376 million m3 in 2030.

After the completion of the planning for water source projects, the assurance rate of

domestic and industrial productive water will reach 95%, the assurance rate of

ecological water will be 90%, and the assurance rate of agricultural water will be

75%-90%.

Till 2030, it will meet the water demand for 3,191,000 persons and 14,500 hectares

farmland under irrigation. 228,000,000 m3 will be added into the water supply

capacity.

Effects/benefits

Improvement of water supply for population and industry in terms of quality and quantity of water

Increase user of organized water supply system

Increase the quality of life

Solving numerous problems and shortcomings in the system of water supply in all settlements

Irrigation Current situation/problems

There is 1.5 million hectares of cultivated land in the Morava Valley,

of which land that are suitable for irrigation occupies 0.2 million

hectares while irrigated area occupies only 4,500 hectares, taking up

only 0.3%.

The water efficiency of irrigation in the Morava Valley is 0.5.

Proposed solutions/projects

Three reservoirs serving as irrigation water sources are planned to be

constructed in the South Morava Valley (Dobrotin), the West Morava

Valley (Maskare) and the Great Morava Valley (Bagrdan).

It is planned the construction of supporting canal system which will

guarantee the impermeability of the canal system, so as to improve

the water efficiency.

Development of modern water-saving irrigation regions and

popularizing modern irrigation technologies like dripping irrigation

and sprinkling irrigation.

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Effects/benefits

It is predicted that the cultivated land in the Morava Valley will reach 1.5 million hectares by the planning level year of

2020, and 1.6 million hectares by the planning level year of 2030.

The irrigated area in this river valley will reach 8,500 hectares by the planning level year of 2020 and 14,500 hectares by

the planning level year of 2030.

It is planned that the water efficiency of irrigation will reach 0.6 in 2020 and 0.7 in 2030.

Water protection Current situation/problems

Industrial waste water and sewage from households from settlements on both sides

are discharged directly into the river with a few protective treatments.

The main pollution sources include urban sewage, industrial wastewater, and sewage

from dairy farms and stables.

As per Serbia water class management measures, the water quality of the Morava

River falls into Class II. As per the data base used by Serbia Hydrometeorological

Research Institute from 2006 to 2009 the water quality of the Morava River falls into

Class III/IV.

Proposed solutions/projects

The sewage needs to be collected into the urban sewage treatment plant for

centralized treatment, and the drainage water up to the standard after treatment

shall be drained into the non-drinking water source function area.

Build systems for urban waste water treatment.

Sewage regeneration technology process is to treat effluent in the secondary sewage

treatment plant and successively contains coagulating sedimentation, filtering

(membrane technology), and disinfection.

put the sewage regeneration application and matching facilities into trial running

before 2020, perfect and adjust the equipment during 2030 to make it mature.

Expand the forest area.

Development of ecological agriculture.

Develop a network of water quality monitoring system.

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Effects/benefits

Preservation of water quality

Preservation of drinking water sources

Improvement the environmental situation

Reducing pollution of agricultural and other land

Increase forest coverage

Importance of the project • System of valleys of the Great, West and South Morava

Rivers represents the backbone of the spatial structure of the Central Serbia. Geostrategic potentials that are crucial for the development of Serbia, for its development activities, the concentration of population, development of urban agglomerations, agriculture, with strong economic axis, are concentrated in this area.

• Morava River basin covers 42% of Serbian land, where approximately three million people live, and its water potential at confluence is 45% out of the total water resources in Serbia.

• The Project of regulating the Morava River basin in Serbia and the construction of the waterway Danube-Aegean Sea are compatible with the two main tendencies of modern society - connecting countries and natural and water resources conservation. According to data from the Central European Development Forum, by 2025 two thirds of humanity will feel a serious lack of water, so the multifunctional and integrated approach to water resources management is a duty of every responsible society. 17

Broader context • By the construction of the Rhine-Main-Danube

Canal, the Danube became the backbone of a single waterway that connects the North and the Black Sea, that is, the ports of Rotterdam and Constanta. This created a new trade route between the countries of the North, Central and Western Europe, and a direct connection to the Black Sea, which also means the connection with the Suez Canal and the Middle and Far East region.

• The geostrategic position of the Pannonia Plain and the Sava-Danube connection with the Morava basin, which is linked with Vardar and, further, with the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean, is a unique system of valley-lowland zones of Europe. By linking all of them, a great waterway could be created, one that would connect the North, South and Central Europe, thanks to the Pan-European Corridor 7, the Danube, and the existing waterway Rhine-Main-Danube Canal.

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Broader context

• The aspiration to connect the East and West, China and Europe dates back to the old days, before Christ. Over time, with occasional contacts of Eastern with Western civilizations led to development of the ancient Silk Road, about 6500 kilometres long, used for goods (spices, silk, glass, ivory, precious stones, etc.) transportation, religion expansion, interchange of cultural achievements and created knowledge.

• The decline of the importance of mainland Silk Road began with the rise of the Chinese overseas trade. Travelling by the sea proved to be cheaper, safer and faster. Therefore, the digging of the Suez Canal was of fundamental importance for connecting China, India, the Middle East and Europe.

• This important maritime route –proposed Danube-Morava-Vardar / Axios-Aegean Sea waterway- could be a modern alternative to the ancient Silk Road. It would link the North Europe with the Mediterranean Sea, through the center of the Balkan Peninsula, being an important strategic project not only for Serbia, but for all the countries of the North, Western and Central Europe and the Middle and Far East region as well.

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

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