Elbe barrage on the border with Saxony could come after all

Despite criticism, the Czech Ministry of Transport is continuing its efforts to improve the navigability of the Elbe right up to the border with Saxony. The responsible waterway directorate RVC has now commissioned a new report to examine the environmental impact of such a project. This was announced by a spokesperson for the ministry in Prague. This concerns the section of the Elbe between Usti nad Labem (Aussig on the Elbe) and the state border with Germany.

A number of variants and their effects are to be examined: both the construction of a barrage and the construction of several barrages as well as alternatives such as the use of shallow-draft vessels. "The most effective solution would be the construction of a single barrage, the Decin barrage, on the outskirts of Decin," said the ministry. The aim is to guarantee a channel depth of 140 centimetres for freight and passenger ships on more than 345 days. On more than 180 days of an average year, it should even be 220 centimetres.

An earlier procedure was aborted in 2019. The contract for the new report was awarded to a Czech consortium consisting of the companies Portos, Az-Geo and Ecological Consulting. The costs are the equivalent of around 1.3 million euros. The cross-border environmental impact assessment procedure is scheduled to be completed by 2027. "We expect to have all the necessary permits by 2031 and to start implementing the plans the following year in 2032," said RVC Director Lubomir Fojtu.

Environmentalists have long warned of negative effects on fish and riparian vegetation. The Elbe river landscape is protected as a Natura 2000 site. A recent study showed that the expected environmental damage caused by the damming of the Elbe cannot be offset by other measures. The Czech Court of Auditors NKU also criticized the plans for an Elbe barrage in 2019. The use of taxpayers' money for the expansion of waterways was neither effective nor targeted. The share of traffic on inland waterways in total freight transport is low, the Court of Auditors noted.