site.btaEU-Funded Project Will Improve Navigation along Bulgarian-Romanian Section of Danube River

The FAST Danube 2 project, valued at EUR 230 million and funded through the Connecting Europe Facility, will help improve navigation along the Bulgarian-Romanian section of the Danube River, Ivelin Zanev, Executive Director of the Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River, said here on Monday.

Zanev noted that the project's primary objectives are to improve navigation conditions, remove obstacles, and ensure year-round navigability.

The Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River and Romania’s Galati Lower Danube River Administration recently signed an agreement to jointly manage public procurements related to the project.

Zanev said that a detailed study - the first of its kind - was completed under the first FAST Danube project. Based on its findings, dredging will be carried out in 12 critical sections to maintain navigability even during the low-water summer months. Additional works will include bank stabilization in certain areas and the construction of hydraulic structures to help direct the river’s flow along the fairway. An island will be created between Oryahovo and Bechet, Zanev said, adding that natural formation processes are already underway.

The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2028.