Saale Canal
The Saale Canal , also known as Schleusenkanal Tornitz or Elbe-Saale Canal , describes the project to build a canal parallel to the Saale at the mouth of the Saale and Elbe . The canal is to be built over a length of around 15 kilometers west of the Saale between Calbe -Ost and Barby . Its proponents, which include the state government of Saxony-Anhalt in particular the large companies Solvay and Schwenk Zement (Zementwerk Bernburg), hope that the Saale will be better navigable by saving a few river meanders and particularly narrow curve radii. His opponents fear wasted taxes due to a poor benefit-cost ratio, negative effects on nature and indirect demands for a subsequent expansion of the Elbe.
Background and story
Since the 14th century the navigability of the Saale has been improved by construction measures. Significant milestones were the construction of the Calbe stone sluice and 6 other stone sluices in 1695, the start of chain shipping in 1873 and the Saalehorn breakthrough in 1935. The last major expansion took place in 1970 with an increase in the radius from 150 to 200 m to at least 240 m between Calbe and Klein Rosenburg . In the lower reaches between the mouth and Calbe, however, there are still rocky stretches and tight curve radii. This means that shipping is often not possible when the tide is low.
To solve this problem, the construction of a barrage in Klein Rosenburg was planned in the 1930s. No construction took place due to the war. After the fall of the Berlin Wall , the expansion of the Saale was classified as an urgent need in the 1992 Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan. This solution was rejected in 2001 as part of the environmental impact assessment . The Tornitz lock canal is being planned as an alternative. In contrast to the planning of the barrage, no weir will be built in the Saale and the Saale will remain free-flowing along the entire route between Calbe and the confluence with the Elbe.
A report by the expert Planco in Essen commissioned by the federal government in 2010 indicated a benefit-cost ratio of only 0.58. However, it was criticized by the industry because it had given the annual capacities of Solvay and Schwenk Zement as zero. The Solvay plant manager in Bernburg, however, described the expansion of the canal as vital for the location.
In the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030, a benefit-cost ratio of only 0.2 is listed for the Saale Canal. Corresponding to the forecast transport volumes of less than 0.6 million tons per year, the canal is in the category “Outside the core network”, which is below categories A to C, and has been classified under “Additional demand”. Projects of further demand will not start until 2030 The expansion of the Saale and Saale Canal is not included in the Federal Waterway Expansion Act, which was issued on the basis of the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan. The environmental report on the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030 shows a negative environmental benefit of - 7.7 million euros for the Saale Canal. The examination of intramodal interdependencies (relocation of transports between the modes of transport) in the course of the assessment showed that such relocations are not relevant. In the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030 , the Saale was classified in the category "outside the core network" (<0.6 million t / a), which is below categories A to C. In 2018, the handling of goods to barges in the port of Halle was declared over and since then the port has only been operated as a container terminal for transshipment between road and rail.
criticism
Several environmental associations, in particular the BUND , the Bund der Steuerpayers and Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen and Die Linke criticized the planned canal because of the unproven economic viability and the negative ecological consequences. Parts of the FDP agreed with the argument of wasting tax money and rejected the expansion for economic reasons. In 2008, FDP member of the Bundestag, Jens Ackermann , took part in the torchlight parade to protect the Elbe, together with Steffi Lemke from B90 / the Greens.
A statement from the economist Zabel from the University of Halle came to the conclusion that “the estimated investment costs of 72.6 million euros (...) are not matched by adequate benefit expectations”.
In addition to the ecological costs, the reason for this is the low water levels of the Elbe in summer. Due to climate change, the days with extremely low water would increase. As a result, the bulk cargo transport with European ships (over 1000 tons of cargo) expected by the Waterways and Shipping Authority would be impossible for most of the year. Due to the limited navigability of the river, the economic use of the Elbe as a waterway would only be incomplete, said Zabel.
The estimated costs have risen from the originally expected 72.6 million to now 100 million euros.
The average load of the rather rare cargo ships on the adjoining Elbe is 300 tons (see diagram). According to the BUND, this shows that there is no economic demand for navigability with 1000-tonne ships. According to the state government of Saxony-Anhalt, the Elbe between the mouth of the Saale and Magdeburg (Elbe route 5) is only 2.50 m deep on an average of 111 days a year (see diagram). However, even unloaded European ships require a fairway depth of at least 2.80 m. It is therefore questionable whether these ships can even sail on the Elbe. In this context, the Federal Office for Goods Transport sees no growth opportunities for freight transport on the Elbe. One study states that "under the given framework conditions, inland shipping does not represent an economic alternative for the delivery and removal of containers in the hinterland of the German North Sea ports".
In the past, according to BUND eV, as part of its Elbe project, which has been running since 1993, it has been shown that investments in water infrastructure do not lead to an increase in the volume of ships. A report by Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk said that the port in Halle (Saale) was “a monument to the waste of money”. Der Spiegel described the planned channel as a “ghost channel”, while the FAZ titled “Urgent need for a useless project”.
A study by the Michael Otto Foundation for Environmental Protection Hamburg underlined the continuing declining importance of waterways due to strongly fluctuating water levels - a consequence of climate change. An expansion of the Elbe and Saale would therefore not increase freight traffic on the rivers.
Whether the Saale is expanded further depends heavily on whether the Elbe is expanded. The Federal Audit Office is currently reviewing the economic viability of the entire Elbe expansion , the result is still pending .
A so-called scoping appointment would have opened the plan approval procedure on February 1, 2011. The appointment was canceled due to a paper from the Federal Ministry of Transport , which was presented to the budget committee of the Bundestag on January 26, 2011. Only waterways with a traffic volume of over three million tons per year are planned for the expansion. This would exclude both the Saale and most of the Elbe from further expansion. According to reports in the newspaper Die Welt, the Saale Canal as part of the Elbe and Saale expansion “no longer has priority”.
Individual evidence
- ^ Association for the improvement of shipping on the Saale
- ↑ Channel: Companies say great, experts say flop . In: Magdeburger Volksstimme, August 29, 2012, p. 3
- ↑ Wasser und Schifffahrtsamt Magdeburg ( Memento of the original dated September 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Channel: Companies say great, experts say flop. In: Magdeburger Volksstimme. August 29, 2012, p. 3 ( volksstimme.de ).
- ↑ Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure: Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030. (PDF; 6.86 MB).
- ↑ Law on the expansion of federal waterways and amending the Federal Waterways Act of December 23, 2016 (PDF; 46 kB).
- ↑ Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure: Environmental Report on the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030. (PDF, 10 MB).
- ↑ Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030 , pdf, 7.3 MB
- ↑ "Hafen Halle" no longer exists . MDR, March 10, 2018
- ↑ elbeinsel.de
- ↑ Federal taxpayers criticize Saalekanal. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Halle Forum, May 9, 2008.
- ↑ Greens demand a stop for the Saale Canal. ( Memento of the original from December 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. hallelife.de June 15, 2008.
- ↑ die-linke.de
- ↑ elbeinsel.de ( Memento of the original from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Self-disclosure to a request from Elbeinsel eV
- ^ Initiative against the Elbe-Saale Canal
- ↑ same island Initiative
- ↑ Trees. Green Youth of Saxony-Anhalt, archived from the original on August 7, 2009 ; accessed on November 29, 2015 .
- ↑ elbeinsel.de ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Elbeinsel eV
- ↑ Report by Prof. Dr. Zabel ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Answer of the state government of Saxony-Anhalt to a request from the BUND Saxony-Anhalt dated May 29, 2008.
- ^ WSD Ost, final report 2004 reassessment of the expansion of the Saale.
- ^ Institute for Economics at the University of Halle
- ↑ Bernd Hansjürgens: No more wasting taxpayers money - the discussion about the expansion of the Saale and Elbe should finally end . In: Torgauer Zeitung . Torgauer Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, Torgau November 24, 2008 ( elbeinsel.de ( memento of September 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) [accessed on November 29, 2015]). No more wasting taxpayers money - The discussion about the Saale and Elbe expansion should finally be ended ( memento of the original from September 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ elbeinsel.de
- ^ Special report on the development of seaport hinterland traffic by the Federal Office for Goods Transport from October 29, 2007.
- ↑ Broadcast "Exakt" in the MDR from September 16, 2008 ( Memento from February 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Stolpe's Spirit Channel . In: Der Spiegel . No. 20 , 2003 ( online ).
- ↑ Robert von Lucius: Urgent need for a useless project . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH, Frankfurt am Main July 31, 2008, p. 4 ( oelbeinsel.de ( memento of July 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) [accessed on November 29, 2015]). Urgent need for a useless project ( memento of the original from July 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Study by the Michael Otto Foundation Hamburg 2009, Elbeinsel November 23, 2009 ( Memento of the original from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Federal Audit Office deals with the Elbe expansion. In: Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung. March 24, 2010.
- ↑ The Saale Canal has bad cards. In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung. January 27, 2011.
