Troubled Waters

Polish Waters

Poland’s inland waterways are underexploited and underdeveloped. They barely account for 0.2% of the country’s total inland transport. In comparison, the proportion is 17% in Germany. The global trend is to promote water transport. Meanwhile, only 10% of Polish waterways have the operability parameters required by the 2002 resolution on the classification of inland waterways. Although the authorities admit that Poland needs to do a great deal in this area, two ministries seem to be acting at cross-purposes. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Development intends to allocate PLN 4 billion to enhance the navigability of Polish rivers. The plans may, however, be thwarted by the Environment Ministry whose draft water bill envisages a considerable rise in charges for water transport of goods and passengers as well as for the use of sluices. As a result, river transport might prove significantly more expensive than that by motorway. The ministry…