The Danube Commission participated in the 9th Annual Consultation of the Serbian Port Government Agency
On 20 May 2024, in Belgrade the Port Government Agency of the Republic of Serbia (PGA) held its 9th regular annual consultation with the Ports, River Shipping and Ship Agent groups under the auspices of Serbian Chamber of Commerce. The meeting was attended by over 80 participants, among which the Danube Commission traditionally had a special status.
Regular consultations have evolved into an important logistics forum,an opportunity for port operatorsand freight forwarders to initiate activities in order to improve inland waterway transport.
It was noted that in 2023 there is a slight increase in freight transport compared to 2022, amounting to 15.366 million tons, while the number of passenger ship calls was 1,409. In the first three months of this year, the PGA recorded 3.7 million tons of goods handled in Serbian ports, which is ten percent more than in the same period last year.
In international passenger traffic, the agency registered 24 cruise ship arrivals and 3,509 passengers by 1 April this year. The number of passengers is expected to increase by ten per cent in this year’s shipping season, meaning that 200,000 tourists will visit Serbia on cruise ships.
The representative of the DC Secretariat presented statistical indicators of transshipment in ports on the Danube for 2023 and pointed to the results of EM Ports, EM HYDRO and WG Tech, highlighting the activities of the Commission until the end of 2024.
Representative of iC Consulenten presented status of the Study on Enabling Sustainable Management and Development of Inland Ports. The structure, objectives, methodology, geographical scope and timeline of the Study were presented, with special emphasis on the importance of digitalization for the sustainability of inland ports.
The Port Government Agency has published its eighth annual Bulletin.
The annual consultations had a regional character, with representatives of the Port Authority of Vukovar participing for the first-time in the meeting.
