Berlin - Germany is to widen and dredge the Kiel Canal, a key access route to the Baltic Sea, so it can handle ships up to 280 metres long, Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee announced Monday.

Opened in 1895, the canal across the northern region of Schleswig- Holstein was originally cut so the Germany Navy did not depend on Danish and Swedish goodwill for access via the Kattegat, the only natural entry to the Baltic Sea from the North Sea.

Nowadays the 100-kilometre canal is a fuel saver for ships bound to Russia, Poland and other nations. Its operators advertise it as the busiest artificial waterway in the world. The Kattegat route around Denmark is 500 kilometres longer.

Tiefensee said that as a first step, the easternmost 20 kilometres of the canal, currently 11 metres deep, would be dredged to 12 metres to handle deeper-draught freighters at a cost of 140 million euros (217 million dollars).

A further 280 million euros would mainly be spent to accommodate longer ships. The locks at each end are too small to handle very large vessels. (dpa)