To improve the infrastructure on the both sides of the Danube river in order to maintain the navigability on the Danube.

5,946,041.76 euro, out of which 5.054.135.48 euro ERDF

Lead Beneficiary (LB): Territorial Administrative Unit – Calarasi County

Beneficiary 2 (B2): Silistra Municipality

Beneficiary 3 (B3): Territorial Administrative Unit – Calarasi Town

Start date: 30.03.2019

End date: 31.12.2023

Duration: 57 months and 2 days

Silistra in Bulgaria

Calarasi in Romania

• Strategies and action plans to improve the safety of the navigation on the Danube;
• Works in Calarasi County – to facilitate the direct access of the boat owners from one community to another, offering an open area of ​​navigation on the inside Borcea arm;
• Works in Silistra District – rehabilitation of Riverside fortification walls;
• Promotional activities focus on providing project information, transparency and effective communication with stakeholders, as well as presenting the results of project activities and target groups and local stakeholders working in the cross-border region;
• The transport waterway between Calarasi and Silistra will be improved by installing beacons on 5 km inland waterway on the Borcea – secondary arm of Danube. Two river station will be developed, one for each side of the Danube. Two river buses of medium size will be purchase for passengers transportation.

Programme outputs: Total length of new and improved inland waterway – 11 km;

Programme results: 2.34 % of the RO-BG CBC Danube length and Black Sea where safety of the navigation have been improved.

The project is currently under implementation with the following results reported so far:

LB – The contract for the technical design was signed (investments for Borcea arm). The Start Order for elaboration of the Technical Project was issued in the middle of November 2020. The development of the Technical Project together with all obtained permits was completed in the end of March 2021. In addition, the Lead Beneficiary organized the Project Launch Conference on 21^st of December 2021, in parallel with the starting of the works execution in Borcea Arm.

B2 – A general review on the technical documentation (developed in 2017) is in progress (Reconstruction and modernization of the River Port in Silistra facilities). At the end of March 2022, a negative statement was received from the Ministry of Culture in view of the type of the works foreseen to be performed on a plot with Roman archaeological remains, part from the location of the River Port in Silistra. In addition, Silistra Municipality conducted a preventive rescue archaeological research of the site, including performing of on the spot checks of archaeologic specialists and a report for the status of Roman archaeological ruins was issued from the representatives of the Ministry of Culture.

Based on the issued report from the commission, B2 resubmitted back the Technical documentation in the end of September 2022 and currently is still expecting a final positive statement from the Ministry of Culture for approving the technical documentation. The estimations are to succeed to launch the procedure for works execution until the end of year 2022. In accordance with the revised Technical Project, the foreseen period of execution is 10 months.

B3 - LB has started the procedures to clear the land of the investment, demolishing the existing constructions on site. A contract for execution of the construction works in Borcea arm was signed in November 2021 and the Start Order for works execution was issued in the middle of December 2021. So far, there were done activities of worksite organization, land clearing, digging and land levelling. The works completion level as a percentage has reached and approximate 7.88%.