Round table within the framework of the BABECA project

Within the framework of the project “Complex Water Management of Baja-Bezdan Channel (BABECA)”, co-financed by the European Union through the Interreg IPA Hungary-Serbia Cross-Border Cooperation Program, a roundtable on cross-border cooperation in water management was held at the Bezdan lock on 25 September 2020.

The partnership in the project, with the overall amount of allocated funding exceeding EUR 8,699,537.91, of which the amount of the EU (IPA) contribution is EUR 7,394,607.21, consists of the Lower Danube Valley Water Directorate (Hungary), Public Water Management Company “Vode Vojvodine” Novi Sad (Serbia) and European Affairs Fund of Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (Serbia).

The objective of the round table was to present the implemented project activities and achieved results that contribute to the improvement of water flow in the Baja-Bezdan Canal, of the water management system in the cross-border region and of the flood defence system. The topics covered by the round table, although focused on the Baja-Bezdan Canal, can serve as an example of best practice that can be applied to other watercourses.

The event was opened by Ivana Đurica, Assistant Director, European Fund Affairs of AP Vojvodina, and the attendees were greeted by Stevan Ilinčić, Assistant Director, PWMC “Vode Vojvodina” Novi Sad. Examples of best practice in the regulation and maintenance of watercourses, as well as in flood defence, were presented by experts from partner institutions in the field of water management from Serbia and Hungary, i.e. Zsolt Királj, project manager, on behalf of the Directorate for Water Management of the Lower Danube, and Zoran Madžgalj on behalf of the PWMC “Vode Vojvodina Novi Sad.

The implementation of the project started on 29 September 2017 and lasts until 28 September 2020.