The port in Petrova on the Baťa Canal is key to its development

Port Petrov

Brno - The port for 45 passenger boats in Petrov near Hodonín, which will open on Saturday, is one of the key projects for the development of tourism around the Baťa Canal. The Directorate of Waterways (ŘVC) is also preparing smaller ports on the Elbe and the Vltava in cooperation with municipalities, which should help develop tourism infrastructure, said ČTK deputy director of ŘVC Jan Bukovský. The Baťa Canal serves as a model, where up to 75,000 people sail annually.
    For example, this year a port opened in Hluboká nad Vltavou on the Vltava and there are plans to make it navigable upstream to České Budějovice. New lifts are also to be built at the Orlík and Slapy reservoirs, allowing navigation on the Vltava all the way to Mělník at the confluence with the Elbe. Plans are also underway to make the stretch from Pardubice to Děčín navigable. "On the Elbe, it is necessary to overcome the weir in Přelouč with a lock on a three-kilometer-long navigation channel that bypasses the non-navigable section. We expect that by 2021 the waterway to Pardubice will be navigable," Bukovský mentioned.
    The last lock is currently being built on the Hněvkovice weir on the Vltava, and in 2016, České Budějovice will connect to Orlík. "Then, only the mentioned boat lifts will remain for larger boats that weigh more than 3.5 tons and have a width of three meters. Smaller boats can already navigate the reservoirs today," Bukovský explained.
    This year, ports for 10 to 16 small recreational boats were to be constructed on the Elbe, and in some cities, also docking facilities for public transport, including sightseeing boats. These include Nymburk, Čelákovice, Oseček, and also Davle on the Vltava. The construction has been delayed due to administrative issues related to obtaining building permits. Later, ports are to be established in Poděbrady, Neratovice, Brandýs nad Labem, and Kolín. In each port, boats can connect to electricity, dispose of municipal waste, and in some places, refill water. It should be possible to moor for a maximum of 48 hours in all ports. The construction costs are expected to be between 15 and 20 million crowns.
    The most advanced in the development of water tourism is currently on the Baťa Canal. Currently, 53 kilometers are in operation, and there are plans to expand it gradually to both sides towards Hodonín in the south and Kroměříž in the north. "We are long-term working on developing the infrastructure, equipping individual docking facilities," Vojtěch Bártek from the non-profit organization Baťa Canal told ČTK. The construction of the Bělov lock in Zlín and Sudoměřice - Rohatec in Hodonín is also planned.
    "Boat rental services, which can be rented for a weekend or an entire vacation, are rapidly developing. Czechs travel to the Netherlands and France this way. For this type of tourism, a continuous network of public docks must exist. The importance of waterways with infrastructure is evidenced by the Baťa Canal, where the development of small navigation has just begun. Municipalities along the Elbe have realized this, and a comprehensive program for the development of the port network was initiated with the Ministry of Transport," Bukovský explained. And the more tourists, according to him, that get onto the water, the more they will visit the cities and monuments surrounding the river.