via donau

via donau - Österreichische Wasserstraßen-Gesellschaft mbH
GmbH
Industry Infrastructure, Transport
Founded 2005
Headquarters Vienna, Austria
Key people
 DI Hans-Peter Hasenbichler, Managing director
Number of employees
 ~ 270
Website http://www.via-donau.org
Former logo

via donau is a subsidiary of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (bmvit) tasked with the preservation and development of the Danube waterway. It was established in 2005.

History

via donau was established on 1 January 2005 by the Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology formed by a merger of the Austrian Donau-Betriebs AG, the Austrian Danube-Technik GmbH, the via donau Development Company for Telematics and Navigation on the Danube and the privatized waterways organization.

Company

viadonau field office in Krems

via donau executes federal tasks in waterway and shipping. The company is not only an infrastructure operator, but also a partner in business and a service company. Together with national and international partners the company implements innovative projects to increase the use of the waterway. via donau is making an important contribution to securing the location of Austrian enterprises and simultaneously supporting the environmentally-friendly management of future transport volumes in the Danube corridor.

via donau has about 270 employees based at five locations, one main office, two field offices and nine locks on the Danube.

Locations

inland navigation on the Danube

Field office:

Locks on the Danube:

Tasks

Danube river bank

Infrastructure management

via donau provides a modern and living infrastructure for shipping. via donau's tasks are the maintenance of riverbanks and bank constructions, the upkeep of shipping routes and the current measurement and appropriation of hydrographic and hydrologic data.

Flood protection

via donau is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of flood protection facilities on the rivers March, Thaya and Danube. via donau is also responsible for the currently largest flood protection project on the rivers March and lower Thaya. As the managing office of the Danube Flood Control Agency (DHK), via donau is responsible for preventive and protective measures with regard to the DHK’s flood control structures in Vienna and Lower Austria.

Ecological measures on the Danube

The company also conducts numerous river engineering and renaturisation projects. The renaturisation of the Danube is creating near-natural riverbanks and new habitats for animals and plants.

Traffic management on the Austrian Danube

cargo vessel on the Danube

With DoRIS (Danube River Information Services) via donau has participated in the development of a decisive tool for inland waterway transport on the Austrian Danube. In 2006 DoRIS commenced operations and has set the standard for navigation information systems all along the Danube. via donau is working at full speed to develop new and improved services. In addition, via donau supports the implementation of River Information Services in the entire Danube region.

The operation of the locks on the Danube also falls under the category traffic management.

Developing and strengthening inland waterway transport via donau is working on increasing the attractiveness of inland waterway transport to increase the flow of goods on the Danube. New initiatives and service provisions are being designed and implemented by via donau to make inland shipping more attractive. In 2005 The “National Danube Shipping Action Plan” (NAP) came into effect in Austria, in which around 70 individual measures were defined for strengthening and developing shipping. The NAP was given substantial support in its development by via donau and defines the key aspects of Austrian shipping policy in the years to come. On European level, the European action programme NAIADES has succeeded in ensuring the lasting importance of inland shipping transportation. This programme has been realised with considerable involvement from via donau and lays out clear strategies for shipping in Europe.

Transport development

Inland waterway transport already offers attractive logistics solutions to the economy for inland shipping. via donau works closely with ports and production and loading industries and is simultaneously a contact point for all questions relating to Danube shipping.

Coordinates: 48°13′57″N 16°24′50″E / 48.2326°N 16.4138°E / 48.2326; 16.4138

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