Elbe lock in Děčín, Czechia: two project options unveiled

The state has presented two versions of the project for a controversial weir with a lock on the Elbe in Děčín. The CZK 6–8 billion construction is meant to improve navigation on a stretch more than 40 kilometers long, from the Masaryk locks in Ústí nad Labem to the German border. Work is planned to begin in 2029.

Why Děčín needs a lock

The stretch of the Elbe below Děčín is the last one downstream of the confluence with the Vltava where navigation depends solely on natural conditions. Because of water shortages, large vessels often cannot get through, and according to supporters of the weir, most Czech ships have therefore moved to the rivers and canals of Western Europe. Once the project is completed, the Elbe is supposed to be navigable 345 days a year.

The movable weir and lock are to be built at the lower edge of the built-up area of Děčín, below the port in Loubí and the railway station in Prostřední Žleb. The construction also includes a small hydroelectric power plant.

How the two options differ

As part of the review procedure, the public and experts can now comment on both options. The first is based on the previously prepared project; the second includes broader measures meant to reduce the impact of construction on the landscape: modified fish passes, a bypass channel and restoration of part of the area near Malé Březno. The state Waterways Directorate submitted the documents to the Ministry of the Environment, and comments can currently be sent to the ministry.

Both options provide for a lock chamber measuring 200 by 24 meters and a fairway 50 meters wide. They differ mainly in how passage for migrating animals is ensured, the scale of restoration measures and how construction will be carried out.

The documentation allows for interference with valuable natural areas of the Elbe and a significant negative impact on some Natura 2000 zones; compensation and restoration measures are meant to mitigate the consequences. Environmental organizations have long opposed the weir; they previously argued, among other things, that a single lock in Děčín will not help navigation unless other measures are taken on the river in Germany.

“Improving navigation conditions on the Elbe has been designed with maximum attention to nature. I believe the current process of detailed environmental impact assessment will end with a positive opinion. That will allow us to start the next phase of preparation and then begin the construction we plan for 2029,” said Waterways Directorate head Lubomír Fojtů. He believes that once the lock and weir are in operation, freight volumes, including heavy and oversized cargo, will grow and the load on roads will fall noticeably.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz