Resumen
The aim of this article is to show, at the example of lower Vistula River, that the characteristics of inland waterways may increase the benefits of multipurpose development of waterways. In the paper, the nature of the multipurpose development of waterways, the impact of the specifics of the waterways to the share of inland waterway transport in handling the transportation needs, the process of creating an international transport network, and the effects of the development of waterways in the light of the idea of sustainable development will be presented.