EU Support for Motorways of the Sea
Gothenburg (Sweden), Aarhus (Denmark) and Tallinn (Estonia) are part of a project to create a smart network of ports which will receive EU funding. Set to receive almost €25 million from the EU up to December 2013, the project will contribute towards the realisation of Priority Project 21 (Motorways of the Sea) by fostering an efficient and environmentally friendly intermodal transport solution in the region.
The ports of Aarhus, Gothenburg and Tallinn have established the “Baltic Sea Hub and Spokes” project under the Motorways of the Sea which was retained for EU co-funding under the 2010 TEN-T Multi-Annual Call.
The project complies with the EU’s strategy for the Baltic Sea region. Due to the expansion of the economic zone in the Baltic Sea and the increasing cooperation with the Far East, there is the need to develop the hub ports in the region to handle existing volumes and future growth in freight and passenger traffic. To assure this, the hub port system in Aarhus/Gothenburg and the spoke system of feeder ports in the entire Baltic Sea region should be developed through a higher integration and closer cooperation and coordination, on top of further development of the individual ports.
The main objectives of this project are to facilitate an efficient, environmentally friendly and attractive intermodal transport solution for the region and to improve access to its markets. This will increase possibilities for trade and growth, which will lead to an increase in the flow of goods by sea. This, in turn, will help the ports grow and develop and make the individual countries more competitive.