The Ministry of Infrastructure together with PGW Wody Polskie (National Water Management Authority) and the self-governments of five voivodeships will work together towards the development of water tourism and transport on the IWW E70. A letter of intent was signed in this regard. The event was held on 11 June 2024 in Gdańsk.
The IWW E70 has transport and tourism potential, but in order to make use of it, it is necessary to eliminate obstacles such as shallows, shoals, overgrowth of weeds in summer, lack of or erroneous navigational markings, low bridge clearances, damaged elements of control structures – groynes, etc., which make navigation impossible. The comprehensive revitalisation of the International Waterway E70 is an extremely complex and expensive task.
In 2006, five voivodeships – Lubuskie, Wielkopolskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Pomorskie and Warmińsko-Mazurskie – launched an initiative to revitalise and restore the navigability of this waterway. A decision was made to work together to re-establish tourist and freight navigation in order to support economic activity in the areas within the IWW E70 impact area. Activities undertaken in recent years by the signatories of the IWW E70 Agreements have led to the development of, among other things, a programme strategy, a programme and spatial concept for the project, an environmental analysis (environmental impact forecast) and a draft programme set out in the programme and spatial concept.
Over the years, since the formation of the IWW E70 team, local authorities have launched many investment projects, often in cooperation with private entities, which have improved the waterway infrastructure. In several cities, quays and riverside boulevards have been refurbished, old marinas and harbours have been renovated or new ones have been built. As part of the project “Żuławy Loop – Development of Water Tourism. Stages I and II”, a network of ports and marinas on the Vistula, Nogat, Szkarpawa rivers and the Vistula Lagoon was established. In addition, new marinas have been built as local boating centres in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Santok, Czarnków, Drawsko, Nakło, Bydgoszcz, Grudziądz and Toruń. Repairs have also been carried out on several historic hydrotechnical structures on the Noteć River and the Bydgoszcz Canal.
All these measures have significantly contributed to improving the water infrastructure and navigational conditions on the IWW E70. On many occasions, they have driven local economic initiatives and further activities to revive tourism.
All these efforts made over the years are being met by an initiative from the Ministry of Infrastructure. The signing of the letter of intent demonstrates the will to act jointly with the self-governments of the five voivodeships, PGW Wody Polskie (National Water Management Authority), including the Regional Water Management Boards in Poznań, Bydgoszcz and Gdańsk, and the Inland Waterways Authority. The aim is to restore the International Waterway E70 and make use of its potential as well as to give it its rightful place on the tourist and transport map of Poland.
