The European Commission is to make an additional € 172 million of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) budget available to finance European transport infrastructure projects.

Commission vice president Siim Kallas said, "The TEN-T programme is releasing this funding for key projects that can add value to Europe."

Funding includes up to € 85 million for projects such as 'motorways of the sea' to provide viable alternatives for congested roads by moving freight to sea routes. Up to € 10 million will also be made available for river information services to provide traffic management infrastructure on the inland waterway network.

Mr Kallas said, "The annual programme has been fine tuned in 2010 to allow us to prepare for future transport priorities, notably making transport greener, and to increase the participation of private partners in infrastructure projects."

The additional funding complements the € 7 billion that has already been allocated under the 2007-2013 TEN-T programme for some 300 projects covering all modes of transport including air, rail, road and sea as well as logistics and intelligent transport systems.

The 2010 annual work programme, established to finance the highest priorities of the TEN-T network, has three priorities for the year ahead. Up to € 30 million will be made available to promote the development of an integrated and environmentally friendly transport system.

Up to € 40 million is available for accelerating or facilitating the implementation of TEN-T projects, especially relating to rail and inland waterways, as well as for projects that support the Commission's controversial European Sky policy, under which a single air traffic control would manage European airspace.

A further € 7 million is being made available for studies to support PPP involvement.

The TEN-T Executive Agency will host a TEN-T information day on 31 May and 1 June 2010 in Brussels to help authorities prepare their proposals for project funding prior to a deadline of 31 August 2010.

A statement from the European Commission said that proposals will be evaluated on the basis of their relevance to TEN-T priorities and policy objectives, their maturity, socio-economic and environmental impact and their quality in terms of completeness, clarity and coherence.