Port of Rijeka Turns a New Page, Contracts Signed for Projects Worth 37.6 Million Euros

The beginning of a new investment cycle in the Rijeka port area was marked on Thursday by the signing of contracts for development projects in the Rijeka port, worth a total of 37.6 million euros.

The contract for the execution of works on the project “Development of a multimodal platform in the Port of Rijeka and connection with the Adriatic Gate container terminal” worth a total of 35.5 million euros, was signed by the Port Authority of Rijeka and HŽ Infrastruktura with the consortium of bidders Kolektor-koling and Euro-asfalt.

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This is a project on the Sušak Brajdica line, which is the shortest transport corridor for the transport of goods from overseas ports to the EU. During the works, which will begin in June and are expected to be completed in June 2020, existing tracks at the Brajdica station will be reconstructed, the Sušak tunnel will be expanded, and a new siding and four new tracks at the terminal will be built. The reconstruction of the existing contact network at Brajdica, installation of new signaling, safety, and communication devices, and more are planned.

The contract for technical assistance in the design and implementation of the “Port Community System” for the project “Improvement of Infrastructure in the Port of Rijeka – IT System of the Port Community” worth 310,000 euros was signed by representatives of the Port Authority of Rijeka and representatives of the consortium of bidders from the company Sarda. This is a system that will be compatible with the Croatian Integrated Maritime System CIMIS and with the Customs Administration system, and the total value of this project is 1.6 million euros.

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The agreement on the regulation of mutual relations during the execution of works within the project “Reconstruction of the Rijeka Railway Station – Construction of a New Siding” was signed by HŽ Infrastruktura and the City of Rijeka. This allows for the smooth organization of city life in Rijeka during the works.

Funding for the projects has been secured mostly (85 percent) from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), while the rest is national funding.

The Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković, who attended the signing, assessed that the Port of Rijeka is turning a new page and that its development path will position it as an intermodal hub of the northern Adriatic, alongside the strongest European ports.

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Through the project at Brajdica, we will obtain a modernized port, a new intermodal terminal, and a station that will allow for greater cargo acceptance, he said, noting that today the share of railways in container transport at Brajdica is 30 percent, up from 24 percent in 2016, and that this share aims to increase to over 50 percent.

He continued that the Port of Rijeka will be connected with a new intermodal terminal on the Zagreb coast, and mentioned projects for the reconstruction of the Bršica coast at the Raša terminal, removal of bottlenecks in Rijeka and Bakr, and the establishment of the IT system of the port community.

He emphasized that non-repayable funds from CEF have been obtained for a total of six port projects and that today marks the beginning of the “unstoppable development of the Port of Rijeka,” which will generate total investments of around 2.5 billion kuna over the next three years.

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Minister Butković stated that by the end of this year, the construction of 400 meters of the new Zagreb coast will be completed and that a tender for the connecting road from that part of the port to the city bypass (D403) will be announced by the end of September, with works expected to begin in January next year. There is also the process of concessioning and developing an intermodal center in Matulji, he said, emphasizing that these projects will increase the capacity and efficiency of the Port of Rijeka in cargo transshipment and increase the share of rail transport on the Rijeka transport route.

According to the director of the Port Authority of Rijeka, Denis Vukorepa, by the end of this year, with the completion of the construction of the Zagreb coast, the Rijeka Gateway project for the modernization of the port will also be completed, after which a contract will be signed with the concessionaire. The new investment cycle, within which investments in six projects co-financed by CEF totaling 115.5 million euros will be realized, will end in 2021, said Vukorepa.