Commissioner Barrot Urges Action on Sea Motorways
Two years after the decision on establishing sea motorways within the trans-European transport network (TEN-T), the time has come to take concrete steps, European Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot told the participants of the first conference on sea motorways in Ljubljana on Tuesday.
The Commission commissioned feasibility studies on sea motorways in 2005 and 2006 and allocated funds for their construction in the 2007-2013 EU budget, Barrot said.
"The Commission sees great potential in sea motorways," he added. Moreover, with the land transports set to increase by 70% by 2020, appropriate sea motorways will able to take the bulk of cargo off land transport routes, thereby also helping towards Kyoto obligations, he explained.
Meanwhile PM Janez Jansa told the meeting that Slovenia has joined the concept of intermodal transport as well, with the country's national transport strategy emphasising water and rail transports.
However, if the Commission wants sea motorways to be successful, it has to work towards better connectability between ports, railway hubs and inland ports, Jansa pointed out.
Slovenian Transport Minister Janez Bozic called for cautious implementation of sea motorways, pointing out the need to be careful in choosing sea ports, ensuring suitable transport links between ports and land transport routes, and simplifying administrative procedures.
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