After several decades, a concrete move: Serbia announces tender to extract sunken German fleet from the Danube

Photo: MGSI

At the request of the Serbian Ministry of Construction and Traffic (MGSI), the Official Gazette of the European Union today published a public procurement call to select contractors for the project of removal of a German fleet, that was sunk in the Danube in Serbia during the Second World War.

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After two and a half years of preparing the project, technical and tender documentation, including recording the presence of unexploded ordnance on the sunken ships, as well as providing financial resources, we are entering the final phase of this project.

"After decades of neglecting traffic and port infrastructure on the Danube, the Serbian government has decided to launch investments that will accelerate the development of water transport and water corridors by investing in ports, safety of navigation, and regulation of our rivers, to make them navigable 365 days a year... I believe that this project shows the huge capacity of our administration to the highest degree, because we are demonstrating that we are able to cope with all the requirements of this project, which is one of the most complex," said Minister Tomislav Momirovic.

The project includes demining and removing 21 sunken ships, which narrow the width of the Danube waterway from the prescribed 180 meters to only 90 meters. The ships are located downstream from the hydro-electric power plant Djerdap 2, which covers an area of ​​nearly 7 kilometers, and were sunk before the end of World War II in a bid of the German army to slow down the advance of the Red Army along the Danube, on their way to Germany.

The value of the works is estimated at 29 million euros, and the funds have been provided from a European Investment Bank loan, and an WBIF Fund grant.

(Telegraf Biznis)