Milanović: This is the beginning of a great story for Rijeka

Prime Minister Zoran Milanović stated today at a ceremony marking the start of operations of two new port cranes in the port of Rijeka, worth a total of five million euros, that he is convinced that Croatia will have a modern port and infrastructure by the end of the decade, which will connect Rijeka with Central Europe.

By the end of this decade, Croatia will have a modern railway line to the Hungarian border, and then to Budapest, he said, adding that we have been waiting for this for decades.

At the ceremony, which was also attended by the Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas, Milanović reminded that in 2003 it was decided to build highways, which began to be realized a few years later. He emphasized that now “we must make a promise and firmly commit to making this a world-important port and city, an important city and country, which will achieve a lot in competition and cooperation with the best.” He added that Rijeka and Croatia should have been in the EU, that some other parameters were important, twenty years ago, but that it will only happen in two months.

Now, as we enter the EU, we are finally starting to do what must be done from Rijeka and the port of Rijeka – a Croatian port, he said, emphasizing that it is an important port that connects a good part of Central Europe with the sea and that we belong to maritime nations.

The Prime Minister said that the Government will do everything for Rijeka and other areas that have potential, that we built the highways ourselves, and that we will fight for the rest in cooperation with the EU and by utilizing EU funds.

The Prime Minister stated that the success of every nation and economy consists of how much it can optimize its resources and earn from them, and that, if we look at it this way, we have not been particularly successful so far and the port of Rijeka has not been successful enough, meaning that its potential is much greater, and that little has been invested in the past ten years.

He assessed that ‘this is the beginning of a great story for Rijeka and he is convinced that no one, no government or policy will stand in the way of this.’ – Our task is to make Rijeka one of the significant European ports in this part of Europe and the Adriatic – said the Prime Minister.

The Vice-President of the European Commission (EC) and Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas pointed out the importance of maritime transport and the need to adapt ports to new technologies. He said that the EC enables the development, investment, and modernization of European ports, and that the future of goods transport depends on the entire chain, i.e., a combination of various types of transport.

Emphasizing that Croatia will soon become an EU member, Kallas said that the port infrastructure needs to be adapted to this. We are following you on the path of development, and Croatia has a vision precisely for this cooperation, he said.

Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure Siniša Hajdaš Dončić stated that talks are concluding on including Croatian strategic corridors into the EU’s core transport network and that this allows for co-financing of up to 85 percent of strategic routes. One of these routes is the Rijeka railway transport route from Rijeka to Botovo, which raises the competitiveness of the port of Rijeka, which is becoming the entry point for goods into Europe and a creator of new jobs.

The role of a smart and rational state is to ensure strategic primary infrastructure, while the upgrade is on the private sector to create jobs and achieve economic growth, said the minister, emphasizing that efforts are being made to close most investments, up to 85 percent, through financing from the EC.

Prime Minister Milanović, today with Minister Hajdaš Dončić, visited Rijeka, where he discussed the transport 5b route, i.e., the railway corridor, which is one of the main European transport corridors, with Vice-President Kallas.

According to the statement, the meeting highlighted Croatia’s intention to complete the Rijeka-Botovo railway from 2014 to 2020, which would be co-financed from EU funds, for which projects are already being prepared, and part of it is in realization. The total value of the project is around two billion euros.