On 20 February 2017, the transnational DAPhNE project was officially launched in Budapest. The event brought together high level representatives from the European Federation of Inland Ports (Mr Alexander van den Bosch) and from the Hungarian Federation of Danube Ports (Mr Szalma Béla), as well as more than 50 experts and stakeholders with a dedicated interest in the Danube navigation and the development of Danube Ports.    

DAPhNE – initiated and coordinated by Pro Danube – aims to facilitate a balanced development of Danube Ports as eco-friendly, well accessible multimodal hubs for the transport system of the region and to turn Danube Ports into buzzing economic centres functioning as catalysts for economic growth and creation of high value jobs.

“DAPhNE facilitates Danube ports to become key-elements of a more efficient and sustainable transport network in the Danube region”, says Manfred Seitz, General Secretary of Pro Danube International

The project will establish a well-managed and permanent working platform which tackles the most urgent insufficiencies with the help of guidelines, recommendations and concrete pilot activities based on best practices and leading into an overall development strategy and action plan. The solutions elaborated by the consortium will be shared with more than 60 Danube ports as possible blueprints. Improved coordination and transnational integration achieved via pilot actions and common tools developed by private and public members of the port community will lead to joint solutions for revising and harmonizing port legislation, port administration and port management in the entire Danube region.

Ports from the Upper Danube will cooperate with those from the Central & Lower Danube to support them in improving the regulatory framework, as well as port management and port development practice. Best Practices, guidelines, recommendations and several tools will be developed and disseminated into the port community by establishing a Port Network in order to eliminate the gaps between the stakeholders, both from public and private sectors. Special attention will be paid to the improvement of the eco-performance of the ports in order to contribute to the ecological balance of the river and to improve the situation of the port municipalities.

About the project and the needs behind
“DAPhNE – Danube Ports Network” project is co-funded by European Union Funds (ERDF, IPA) under the Danube Transnational Programme and will run for 30 months (January 2017 – June 2019). The project is implemented by a transnational consortium of 16 co-funded organisations and 7 associated strategic partners (public authorities, consulting companies, universities and NGOs) from 9 European countries (AT, SK, HU, HR, RS, RO, BG, UK, MD). The project has a total budget of 2.985.406,15 Euro, out of which ERDF contribution amounts 2.415.219,42 Euro & IPA contribution amounts 122.375,77 Euro. More information is available at: www.interreg-danube.eu/daphne

Project Coordinator
Pro Danube International – Association for the promotion of transportation on the Danube, Handelskai 265, 1020, Vienna, Austria, www.prodanube.eu

Contact person
Raluca Danila, Pro Danube International, Project Manager, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +43 1 890 66 47 23

This is a common press release of Pro Danube International and the Hungarian Federation of Danube Ports. Any reproduction of parts of this press release or the entire usage of it shall be made with the consent of these organisations.

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