Representatives of the Rijeka Port Authority on Tuesday presented the continuation of the Rijeka Gateway Project, called Rijeka Gateway Project 2 (RGP 2), which will include the extension of a container terminal and the conducting of relevant studies as well as an environmental protection plan.
The Rijeka Gateway Project provides for the reconstruction and modernization of the port and roads leading to it.
The process of preparation of RGP 2 was launched by the Croatian government, and it will be implemented in cooperation with the World Bank.
The deadline for the submission of possible objections to the project is May 28.
Rijeka Port Authority director Bojan Hlača said that the extension of the Brajdica container terminal by some 300 meters would cost around EUR 50 million. The project will also include the extension of a container terminal in the part of the port called Zagrebačka Obala to 680 meters. The project also foresees investment in new computer equipment, a waste collection ship, and other investments.
The investments are based on a master plan for the development of the port that was drawn up in April by the Rotterdam Maritime Group. Under the master plan, annual container turnover in the Rijeka port is expected to reach 335,000 by 2015, and 640,000 by 2020.
In 2007, 145,000 containers were reloaded in the port.
Hlača said that around HRK 1.4 billion would be invested in the entire project, including budgetary funds, the port's own funds, a South Korean government loan for the purchase of cranes, and a World Bank loan for RGP 1 and 2. Speaking of investments in equipment, Hlača said that further investments would be made exclusively by private partners rather than the government, which has been the case so far.
The Rijeka Gateway Project also envisages the privatization of port businesses in the next two years, Hlača said. (Hina)