EU announces $232.5 million funding in transport network

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EU announces $232.5 million funding in transport network

2011-02-22 07:48:26 GMT+7 (ICT)

BRUSSELS (BNO NEWS) -- The European Commission on Monday announced the projects selected to receive a total of €170 million ($232.54 million) of trans-European transport network (TEN-T) funds to build and upgrade vital transport infrastructure across the European Union (EU).

The grants, which stem from the 2010 TEN-T annual and multi-annual calls published on May 19, 2010, will help Member States to build missing transport links, remove bottlenecks and increase the safety and security of transport, with a special focus on making transport more sustainable, promoting the interconnection of different transport modes, accelerating and facilitating the implementation of projects and providing support for public–private partnerships.

During 2010, 51 projects involving 24 Member States were selected to receive funding as part of three separate calls. All projects were evaluated on the basis of their relevance to TEN-T priorities and policy objectives: their maturity, their impact (particularly socio-economic and environmental) and their quality in terms of completeness, clarity, soundness and coherence.

"I am delighted to be signing the decision today that gives the green light to €170 million of the TEN-T budget to co-finance key infrastructure projects of European added value," Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, said.

"These include projects in the fields of Motorways of the Sea and River Information Services, under the multi-annual program, and projects under the annual program helping us to prepare for future transport priorities: notably making transport greener, connecting Europe's east and west, and providing support to public-private partnerships."

The 2010 multi-annual work program with a total funding of €112.4 million ($153.7 million) in total funding is aimed to finance the highest priorities of the TEN-T network, and focused on three fields.

Eight projects providing viable alternatives for congested roads by shifting freight to sea routes were selected with €84.9 million ($116.1 million) in funding, while five others involving traffic management infrastructure on the inland waterway network received €7.1 million ($9.7 million) in funding.

In addition, air traffic management systems and functional airspace blocks had four projects selected, €20.5 million ($28 million) in funding, which was allocated in a separate call published on February 16.

Meanwhile, the 2010 annual work program - with €78.2 million ($106.9 million) in total funding - complements the efforts developed under the multi-annual work program with a view to better utilize scarce EU funds and maximize the impact in priority areas.

The program is focused on three priorities: promoting the development of an integrated and environmentally friendly transport system; accelerating and facilitating the implementation of TEN-T projects; and studies to support Public-Private Partnerships.

The projects will be managed by the TEN-T Executive Agency, under the auspices of the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport of the European Commission.

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