The 1690 European Commission's (EC's) second Marco Polo funding programme for projects which shift freight transport from the road to sea, rail and inland waterways, has launched a call for proposals to reduce road congestion and also the impact of freight transportation upon the environment. The call for proposals is worth US$82 million. Companies who are able to transfer their freight from the roads, and use alternative transportation methods such as by sea, rail and inland waterways will receive grants under the scheme. Companies and entrepreneurs from both inside and outside the European Union (EU) have until the 21 September 2012 to submit their proposals.
<%$Linker:External 0 0 0 oLinkExternal Marco Polo Marco Polo false http://ec.europa.eu/transport/marcopolo false false %> aims to free Europe's roads of an annual volume of 20 billion tonne-kilometres of freight, the equivalent of more than 700,000 trucks a year travelling between Paris and Berlin. However, alternative forms of transport may well be greener, cleaner and even cheaper over time, but producers, manufacturers and hauliers can be reluctant to invest in change in what is a very competitive sector of the economy. The programme’s incentives are designed to make a difference by providing grants for eligible schemes.
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