DOCUMENTS

Chinese study – Morava-Vardar canal

May 08, 23:25

At the end of the mandate, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Mining and Spatial Planning published a confidential document CHINA GEZHOUBA CORPORATION LIMITED: Study on the Feasibility of the Morava Canal

At the end of the mandate, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Mining and Spatial Planning announced so far confidential dokument CHINA GEZHOUBA CORPORATION LIMITED: Feasibility Study of the Morava Canal

The former Ministry of Natural Resources, Mining and Spatial Planning announced at the end of the mandate Study on the feasibility of the Morava canal which was requested by the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance, Rodoljub Šabić, who assessed that it is good that the Ministry of Natural Resources, Mining and Spatial Planning, "even on the last day of its existence", published the Study on the Feasibility of the Morava Canal, by order of the Commissioner, but he stated that secret agreements with foreign partners are in contradiction with the Serbian Constitution and laws and reminded that our Constitution provides that even ratified interstate agreements must be in accordance with its provisions.

The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance imposed a fine of 20.000 dinars on the Ministry of Natural Resources, Mining and Spatial Planning because it refused, based on the earlier decision of the Commissioner, to deliver the Study of the justification of the Danube-Morava-Vardar canal construction project to all those who requested that document.

Every government, especially the incompetent and ostentatious ones, discover that the water is wet and keep it as a secret that only they know, but still, based on a cursory look at this study, it is not clear why it was kept under the label "confidential" when it is known that until now domestic experts and large companies once known in the world for the execution of megaprojects (PIM, Energoprojekt) have done more engineering, water management and economic studies of that project, according to the layman's impression, more concrete, detailed and elaborated, and presented to the general public several times. After all, didn't we dig up the Morava Vardar canal in the newspapers every summer, when we ran out of topics?

Study CHINA GEZHOUBA CORPORATION LIMITED: Feasibility Study of the Morava Canal, parts of which you can see in the box below, was made on the basis of consultations with domestic institutions ("during the 15-day research"), and some of the domestic studies and projects whose results have been known to the public for years are also mentioned in the study.

And many domestic studies have been prepared that are not easy to verify for those 15 days of research mentioned in the study:

Study of the Yaroslav Cherny Institute, 1961;
Morava-Vardar waterway (Axios), PIM study, Belgrade, 1973;
Pre-investment study of using the hydropower potential of the Velika Morava River, Energoprojekt, Belgrade, 1987...
You can see a short list of studies on Morava and a short history of that idea in the text 170 years of testing whether the Morava is navigable in the frame on the right.
(Inserts from the analysis of some of those solutions can be seen in the text The Morava Canal in the studies of the companies PIM (1973) and Energoprojekt (1987) in the frame at the very bottom.
170 years of testing whether the Morava is navigable
The project for this canal was first developed in 1904 by Professor Nikola Stamenković. In 1908, an American firm from New Jersey created a preliminary project for the Morava-Vardar waterway.
As early as 1841, the issue of navigating the Moravia was raised. During the second reign of Miloš Obrenović, the Serbian French Shipping Company was formed" (1844-1964).
In July 1859, the French company approached Miloš Obrenović, asking for an exclusive license for river navigation on the Morava within 30 years.
The Russian consul also asked for permission for a Russian company to sail, which was signed in 1860.
In 1867, the first tests were carried out as to whether the Morava could be navigable.
In 1869, the state commission was led by Ante Aleksić, an engineering officer, measuring the depth to Ćuprija, but there were no necessary investments for the arrangement of the river.
In 1904, Britain and England were interested in the terms of financing the project. An American firm from New Jersey made the Morava-Vardar project (Axios) in 1908.
Nikola Stemenković, a professor at the Technical Faculty of the University of Belgrade, first developed the project for the Danube-Thessalonica waterway in 1904, and as an expert in 1909, he was involved in the elaboration of the idea of a Serbian-Turkish arrangement for the construction of the canal, but that failed with the Balkan wars.
The Morava-Vardar project (Axios) faded away until 1961, when studies began again.
In 1961, a second project was created based on the idea of the governments of Greece and SFRY.
In 1973, during a visit to SFRY, United Nations experts checked the validity of this project, which they revised and approved, reasoning that the project could be economically justified. Based on that, the European Community financed the study of water management in Vardar until 1990.
Studies on whether the Morava can be navigable:
- Morava, current state and possibility of navigation - A. Aleksić, Belgrade 1879.
- Danube-Thessalonica waterway project - Prof. dr. N. Stamenković, Belgrade 1909.
- Preliminary design of the waterway Danube - Thessaloniki, Design Institute of River Traffic, Belgrade, 1961.
- Economic study of the Vardar River - Institute of Water Management Macedonia.
- Study of the navigability of the Velika Morava, South Morava and Zapadna Morava rivers - "Ivan Milutinović" Design Institute, Belgrade 1964.
- Study of traffic problems related to the regulation of the Morava River - Institute for Water Management "Jaroslav Černi" of Belgrade, 1964.
- Economic base of the Morava Basin - Joint general water management company "Morava" of Belgrade, 1971.
- Preliminary design of the Morava-Vardar (Axios) waterway - Design Institute "Ivan Milutinović of Belgrade", 1973.
- Morava-Vardar waterway (Axios) – Report of United Nations Experts, Belgrade 1973.
Source: Morava - Vardar (Axios) Navigation Route Dobrivoje Jovanovski; PIM - "Ivan Milutinović", Belgrade 2011.
See also: THE DANUBE-MORAVA-VARDAR-AEGEAN SEA WATERWAY
CHINA GEZHOUBA CORPORATION LIMITED: Moravian Valley - Comprehensive Plan Report

In January 2013, CHINA GEZHOUBA CORPORATION LIMITED, hereinafter referred to as CGGC, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Natural Resources, Mining and Spatial Planning of the Government of the Republic of Serbia in order to implement the overall exploitation of the Serbian Morava River. In June 2013, CGGC organized a team of designers (PRPSDC) with supporting staff from the construction company No.5 Engineering to conduct a survey of the Morava River segment in Serbia. During the 15-day research, successful consultations were held with various sectors of the Government of Serbia, companies, associations, universities and research institutes, where the state of the Morava River was discussed, and a tour of the terrain, i.e. Great, Western and Southern Morava, was also carried out. In July 2007 (?!) year, CGGC gathered staff to participate in the
to the PRPSDC technical planning leave, where the framework, content and basis for the development of the project are specified. As requested at the meeting, the "Moravian Valley - Overall Planning Report" was made in September 2013 based on earlier research results.
This planning report includes three main rivers, the Velika Morava, the South Morava and the West Morava. Navigation research will include the Morava River and the Vardar River, where the priority will be the Morava River. For the purposes of this planning, the years 2002, 2020 and 2023 were taken as the current reference year, medium-term reference year and long-term reference year. In this planning, the basis is the main content topics, namely navigation, hydropower, conservation of water resources, water supply and irrigation, flood control and tourism.
The Chinese study contains an overview of hydrological, economic, water management facts, apparently from local official sources, on the basis of which the following conclusion is drawn:
CONCLUSION
Based on all of the above, it can be concluded that the project of building the Moravian Canal through Serbia is feasible and profitable, and that it has a positive impact in the following areas:
1. Navigation - Given that it connects Western and Central Europe with the Aegean Sea and reduces transport costs, and improves mobility, safety and quality of life;
2. Production of electricity - Increases the amount of renewable energy in the system, brings economic benefits and positively affects the optimization of the energy structure in Serbia;
3. Industry (agriculture, tourism, transport) - The land is arable and therefore suitable for growing various types of plants (wheat, corn, fruit and many others;
4. Irrigation - Enables the development of the irrigation system, which has a positive effect on agriculture;
5. More stable supply of drinking water;
6. Flood protection.
All this has a positive effect on the development of industry and economy and on the employment of people, which increases the standard of living in that part of Serbia.
Chief designer: Yang Huihui and his associates, Zhou Qiuhong, Sun Luo, Xie Kai, Li Wenhua, Yang Huihui, Fu Zhihao, Liu Yazhou, Xiong Hanwen, Zeng Wenze, Kan Dongdong, Yang Fengjuan, Hu Heping indicate possible positive effects in various economic fields, which the reader can see in the following inserts from the study
Traffic
According to the analysis results of the Internal View from Europe (INE), the average external marginal costs of road traffic are 24,12 euros / 1.000 tons * km, the average external marginal costs of rail traffic are 12,35 euros / km * 1.000 tons, while the external marginal costs for inland navigation is 5,0 euros / km * 1.000 tons.
It is noted that within the available transport system, the external marginal costs for inland navigation are the lowest. In addition, the ideas of connecting the waterway along the Morava River and building a new canal from the Vardar River to the Aegean Sea are in line with European strategies for the promotion and improvement of inland waterway transport. In order to improve mobility, safety and quality of life, it is necessary to establish inland water traffic within the multimodal traffic policy.
Energy
After the completion of the construction of the planned cascades, the installed capacity will be increased by 360,1 MW, and the production capacity will be increased by 1427,8 GWH. The Serbian energy system will be further optimized, and pollution will also be reduced. Therefore, it will be more economical and rational to use coal for the needs of the base load of the functioning of the system. Based on the calculation of shadow prices for electricity of 0,06 euros / (kW•h), the annual profit from the production of electricity would amount to 85,67 million euros.
Water resources
3) After the completion of water resources protection planning, the existing situation characterized by the direct discharge of waste water from the sewage system into the river will change, the rate of waste water processing will increase and the aquatic environment will be protected. At the same time, this will trigger the development of tourism.
5) After the implementation of the planned projects related to water sources, the rate of water provision for the needs of households and industrial production would amount to 95 percent, the rate of ecological water provision would amount to 90 percent, while for the needs of agriculture it would amount to 75-90 percent. By 2030, the water demand for the needs of 3.191.000 people and 14.500 hectares of agricultural land under irrigation will be met...
Short-term arrangement
1) Priority will be given to the development of navigation along the Velika Morava. Cascades St1-St5 will be built in Velika Morava with the aim of connecting upstream channels. The two cascades (St6 and St26) foreseen as part of the navigation road project will be built upstream and downstream of the Zapadna Morava valley (Nis), in order to increase the benefit of electricity production and improve the flood protection function.
2) In accordance with the sequence of development of the cascades, optimal implementation of projects related to water supply will take place in the cities of Paraćin, Ćuprija, Velika Plana, Batočina, Jagodina, Lapovo and Doljevac. Water will be taken from watercourses, in order to provide more sources of water supply….
Planned cascades
• In November 2010, the SEEC company published the "General Project of HPP on the Velika Morava within the integral use of the available waters of the Velika Morava River", with a comprehensive techno-economic comparison of four cascade development schemes on the Velika Morava:
1) Preliminary development of the idea mentioned in the Energoprojekt report from 1987, i.e. development scheme 7
cascade.
2) Development scheme of optimized 7 cascades proposed by SEEC company
3) Development scheme for 6 cascades proposed by the SEEC company
4) Development scheme for 5 cascades, proposed by the SEEC company
These four schemes only show a techno-economic comparison from the point of view of hydraulic energy production without considering navigation and a solution of 5 cascades is proposed for the development of hydroelectric power plants on the Velika Morava. In describing the development of cascades on the Velika Morava, this report is based on SEEC's variant of 5 cascades.
CHINA GEZHOUBA CORPORATION LIMITED: Chief Designer: Yang Huihui
Prepared by: Zhou Qiuhong, Sun Luo, Xie Kai, Li Wenhua, Yang Huihui, Fu Zhihao, Liu Yazhou, Xiong Hanwen, Zeng Wenze, Kan Dongdong, Yang Fengjuan and Hu Heping
The entire study: Study on the feasibility of the Morava canal Ministry of Natural Resources, Mining and Spatial PlanningMinistry of Natural Resources, Mining and Spatial Planning
(After the abolition of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Mining and Spatial Planning, the document can be viewed on the website Morava Valley – Comprehensive Planning Report www.istinomer.rs )

The Morava Canal in the studies of the companies PIM (1973) and Energoprojekt (1987)

***
In the work Hydropower and navigation system, "Morava" (Hydropower and navigation system, "Morava"), Božidar Jovanović, B.Sc. Civil Engineer, and B.Sc. Civil Engineer. Dr. Miodrag Jovanović, from the Belgrade Faculty of Civil Engineering, presented two variant solutions for the regulation of the Great and South Morava for navigation and electricity production. One solution is based on the canalization of these watercourses with 11 dams, and the long one, on the construction of a lateral channel for navigation with the production of electricity at 9 dams.
Current state of the project and general settings of the solution
With the beginning of exploitation of the Rhine-Main canal, the Danube was connected to the North Sea. At the same time, the old idea of another European waterway: Danube-Morava-Vardar-Thessalonica, which would connect the Aegean and North Seas, was updated. It would shorten the waterway by about 1200 km compared to the current one across the Black Sea, while saving operating costs of navigation of 25-30 percent, or $1.6-2.0/t payload.
The "PIM" project from 1973 of the Danube-Morava-Vardar-Axios waterway [1] gave priority to navigation over energy and demonstrated the technical feasibility and economic justification of the undertaking, determining the route, level and navigation dimensions for the waterway of the IV order and vessels with a carrying capacity of 1350 t. The UN experts reviewed and approved this project, which gave it international legitimacy, and on the basis of it, the European Community financed the study of water management in Vardar until 1990. In this way, the conditions for concessions and potential investments of domestic and foreign capital are opened up in a certain way....
Characteristics of the "Morava" hydropower and navigation system
"River variant". In the river bed of the South and Velika Morava, dams are spread over a total length of 206 km - concrete thresholds with foundations about 8 m high, which are used to form reservoirs in the river bed. In addition to the dam, each hydroelectric hub has a power plant, lock, wharf and access to the railway and main road. On section 1, 11 hydro nodes are distributed, 4 on the South and 7 on the Velika Morava, at the locations: Niš 2, Aleksinac, Djunis, Stalać, Paraćin, Ćuprija, Bagrdan, Svilajnac, Velika Plana, Vladičin Dol and Ljubičevo...
"Channel variant" The energy-navigation lateral canal, with a total length of 206 km, extends from Doljevac along the right bank of the river to the Niš 2 compensation basin, where it receives the waters of the Nišava River (Figure 1). From here, the route continues along the right bank to Dunis, to pass the Dunis gorge on the left bank (opposite the railway line) to the "Stalać" pool. This basin would be formed by the construction of a dam in the bed of the South Morava (downstream of the railway), with the aim of receiving and leveling the waters of the South and West Morava. On the route of the canal, 4 hydronodes are foreseen: Niš 2, Aleksinac, Djunis and Stalać, with facilities in the canal. From the "Stalać" basin, the route of the energy-navigation channel goes along the left bank of the Morava (parallel to the railway, road and river) to Ljubičevo, where it ends in the bed of the Velika Morava. On this section of the canal, 5 steps are planned: Ćuprija, Bagrdan, Svilajnac, Vlaški Dol and Ljubičevo. On the remaining stretch to the Danube, the natural bed of the Great Morava is used for navigation, with the necessary corrections.
The energy-navigation channel has a trapezoidal cross-section, width at the bottom 19 m, width of the water mirror 43 m, inclination of the slope 1:4, depth of about 4 m. The height of the embankment is planned to be up to 8 m, and the excavation up to 12 m. The channel is unlined, but in some places it is protected against erosion.
Regardless of the variant, Section 1 (Danube-Niš-Doljevac) includes a number of capital buildings of exceptional national importance, as it covers about 40 percent of the territory of Serbia with about 3 million inhabitants. As a system of facilities, it represents a technical and economic unit, connecting important cities: Smederevo, Požarevac, Velika Plana (Kragujevac), Svetozarevo, Ćuprija, Paraćin, Stalać (Kruševac, Kraljevo), Aleksinac and Niš (Leskovac). The arrangement of this section enables the complete arrangement of watersheds and watercourses and the solution of practically all hydrotechnical problems in the area from the Danube to Doljevac.
Section 1 is 174 km long on Velika Morava and 89 km on South Morava. It contains two basins (Niš 2 and Stalać), three water intakes (Niš, Doljevac and Stalać), 9 power plants (5+4), 9 locks with dimensions of 190x12x3.5 m, which enable a commodity turnover of 20 million tons/year. It requires a construction period of 13-15 years.
Characteristics of power plants
The "river" variant has 7 steps on the Velika and 4 on the South Morava, with a total of 44 aggregates. The "Canal" version has 5 steps on Velika and 4 on South Morava, with a total of 27 aggregates. In both variants, construction facilities and equipment are typified...
Power plant operating mode
The power plant system will work as a whole, with command from one center. It will work 3-5 hours a day in the daily peak with installed power, using water reserves from the pool and canal retention. For the other 21-19 hours a day, it will work in flow mode, at the minimum flow that ensures navigation and with minimum power, accumulating water in retentions. In periods of high energy demand, this system will operate in the mode of seasonal accumulations of Vlasina and Zavoje...
The entire study Hydropower and navigation system "Morava", B.Sc. Civil Engineer Božidar Jovanović and B.Sc. Civil Engineer. Dr. Miodrag Jovanović

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DOCUMENTS

Chinese study – Morava-Vardar canal

170 years of testing whether the Morava is navigable

CHINA GEZHOUBA CORPORATION LIMITED: Moravian Valley - Comprehensive Plan Report

The Morava Canal in the studies of the companies PIM (1973) and Energoprojekt (1987)

Serbia must be a country without corruption and mafia

Dodik's return, if he was going anywhere...

Serbia is the world again

A world between two predatory hegemons

Archive

DOCUMENTS

Chinese study – Morava-Vardar canal

170 years of testing whether the Morava is navigable

CHINA GEZHOUBA CORPORATION LIMITED: Moravian Valley - Comprehensive Plan Report

The Morava Canal in the studies of the companies PIM (1973) and Energoprojekt (1987)

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Serbia must be a country without corruption and mafia

Dodik's return, if he was going anywhere...

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A world between two predatory hegemons

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