Activity 1 – Project Management and Communication

                Sub-Activity 1.1 – Project Management

This Sub-Activity covers the overall management of the Action, the preparation of reports on the progress of the Activities, including the final report, the exchange and coordination of information and the final review of the Action's deliverables. The beneficiary of the Action, the Administration of the Lower Danube Galati, will be responsible for project management.

                Sub-Activity 1.2 – Communication and Dissemination

This Sub-Activity comprises all tasks related to communication and dissemination of the Action's results and includes:

• Information about the Action on beneficiary’s websites;
• Use of EU logo on cover of study reports (with disclaimer);
• Press releases, articles, presentations, etc.;
• Dissemination events.

Activity 2 – Integrated Concept to ensure a Good Navigation Status

The main objective of this Activity is to develop an integrated concept to elaborate, rank and evaluate the pilot works actions to be implemented in order to ensure a Good Navigation Status in the most critical bottlenecks of the Romanian-Bulgarian common section of the Danube: Bechet, Corabia, Corabia port and Calafat-Vidin.

                Sub-Activity 2.1 – Data analyses and establishment of a priority list of measures to ensure good navigation status

This Sub - Activity aims to analyze the current conditions of the above mentioned bottlenecks to develop and implement a list of work measures. All data necessary for implementing this Activity will result from the investigations carried out within the following CEF funded Actions: FAIRWAY Danube (2014-EU-TMC-0231-S) and FAST DANUBE (2014-EU-TMC-0297-S). These results will be used to define which work measures can be implemented to ensure good navigation status.

Sub-Activity 2.2 – Development of integrated concept to ensure good navigation status

This Sub-Activity covers the design, delivery and implementation of the integrated concept to ensure Good Navigation Status.

Activity 3 – SWIM-SMART IT platform

This Activity covers the design and the deployment of the SWIM-SMART IT platform aiming to support:

• The day-to-day management of the fairway related data (i.e. GIS data, navigation and hydrological information and etc. The data collected will be available for all other Danube countries waterway management authorities;
• The development of the interfaces to share information among the different platforms and waterway management systems between the countries along the Danube, its tributaries and the Rheine.
• The implementation of the appropriate measures to ensure good navigation status, monitoring and evaluation of the results.

                Sub-Activity 3.1 – Public procurement for the design and deployment of the IT platform

This Sub-Activity entails the following tasks: preparation of the technical specifications, elaboration of the public procurement documentation for the design and deployment of the IT platform including software and hardware and management of the selection procedure.

                Sub-Activity 3.2 – Design and development of the IT platform

This Sub-Activity covers the design, development and deployment of both the software and hardware components of IT platform.

                Sub-Activity 3.3 – Implementation and deployment of the IT platform

In particular this Sub-Activity entails the following tasks:

• Analyze and assess the data gathered to select the measure to be implemented, the necessary technical and financial resources to be allocated and the workflow between the involved parties;
• Monitor the implementation of the measures and collect relevant feedbacks by the users;
• Updated if necessary functionality of the platform according the results of the test and monitoring process;

Activity 4 – Procurement and delivery of technical equipment to carry out capital dredging works and enhanced safety of navigation

This Activity covers the procurement of equipment to carry out capital dredging works and enhance the safety of navigation. Technical specifications will be prepared for each vessel and equipment.

                Sub-Activity 4.1 – Procurement of vessels and equipment to carry out capital dredging works and enhance the safety of navigation

This sub-activity entails the following tasks:

Preparation of technical specifications, elaboration of the public procurement documentation and execution of procurement procedures for:

• The manufacturing of one capital dredging vessels and their equipment. The main indicative technical specifications for this vessel are:
  • Length: min 35 m;
  • Width: max 2.6 m;
  • Draught: max 1.2 m;
  • To host a crew of 3 people and with a texture capacity of min 3000 mc/h.
• The manufacturing of two split hoper barges and their equipment. The main indicative technical specifications for these vessel are:
  • Length: min 40 m;
  • Width: max 10 m;
  • Draught: max 2.50 m;
  • With a hopper volume of min 400 mc.
• The manufacturing of one assistant works vessel and its equipment. The main indicative technical specifications for these vessel are:
  • Length: min 32 m;
  • Width: min 10 m;
  • Draught: max 2.20 m;
  • Cruise speed of min 16 km/h and for the engines: 2 main diesel engines for propulsion and 2 auxiliary for ship electricity (1 for day work, 1 smaller for night usage)
• The manufacturing of one pontoon barge and its equipment. The main indicative technical specifications for these vessel are:
  • Length: min 28 m;
  • Width: min 8 m;
  • Draught: max 1,70 m;
• The manufacturing of a sediment transport pipeline and its equipment. The main indicative technical specifications for the pipeline are:
  • Length: min 1000 m;
  • Diameter: 400 mm

Technical equipment aim to increase the safety of navigation include:

• 4 pieces of precision sectorial lights used for optimise the trajectory for the bridges undercrossing and port entry access;
• 12 AtoN's for providing real time information about the fairway parameters.

Activity 5 – Pilot capital dredging works intervention and testing technical equipment for safety navigation

The objective of this Activity is to carry out and evaluate pilot works for capital dredging of the most critical bottlenecks locations in the Romanian/Bulgarian common section of the Danube listed above.

                Sub-Activity 5.1 – Pilot Project implementation

This sub-activity covers the implementation of the pilot works for capital dredging listed below:

• Capital dredging pilot works to create a new sustainable fairway trajectory in Bechet;
• Capital dredging pilot works to ensure good navigation status for a sustainable fairway trajectory in Corabia and to open and maintain the access to the port of Corabia;
• Capital dredging pilot works to open a second pass for undercrossing the Calafat-Vidin Bridge;
• Test the use of precision lights for vessel to respect the optimal trajectory in the proximity of the Calafat - Vidin bridge and the Corabia and Bechet ports;
• Test the use of AtoNs to provide real time information on the fairway parameters.

                Sub-Activity 5.2 – Monitoring of the results

This Sub-Activity covers the monitoring of the pilots' results to determine the effectiveness of the measures identified by:

• Using the joint framework developed in Activity 2 and hydrographical and hydrological surveys results collected in the FAIRway Danube;

Activity 6 – Evaluation and recommendations

This Activity covers the delivery of an evaluation plan to assess the effectiveness of the pilot works capital dredging implemented to ensure a good navigation status and the elaboration of a proposal to enhance cooperation between Bulgarian and Romanian waterway administrations.

                Sub-Activity 6.1 – Evaluation of the works measures

This Sub-Activity covers the delivery of an evaluation plan to assess the effectiveness of the pilot measures implemented to reinstate a good navigation status in the above mentioned bottlenecks. A list of best practices will be compiled to implement the most effectives work measure in the other critical sections of the Romanian/Bulgarian Danube common sector.

                Sub-Activity 6.2 – Joint framework of cooperation between Romania and Bulgaria

This sub-Activity covers the delivery of a proposal to enhance the cooperation between Bulgarian and Romanian waterway administrations. A common Romanian-Bulgarian procedural framework will be drafted. It will include proposals for common guidelines for interventions, updated procedures of interventions, good practices to support further cooperation between the two countries aim to ensure a maintain a good navigation status.