Rijeka, 10. July 2013
The new quay of Brajdica Container Terminal in the Port of Rijeka, which is operated by the company Adriatic Gate Container Terminal (AGCT) has been put into operation. This project is worth over 30 million euro and was financed by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) as part of the maritime component of the Rijeka Gateway project of the Port of Rijeka Authority. Thanks to the investment all of the preconditions for substantial traffic growth of the Port of Rijeka and for transforming it into the EU’s top port of call in the Adriatic have been satisfied.
On the photo from left to right: Zhen Qi – ZPMC Vice President, H.E. Shen Zhifei – China Ambassador in Croatia, Siniša Hajdaš Dončić - Croatian Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Slavko Linić – Croatian Finance Minister, Hans Ole Madsen - Senior Vice President ICTSI (EME Region), Vojko Obersnel - Mayor of the City of Rijeka, Vedran Devčić - Luka Rijeka CEO, Fernando L. Gaspar - ICTSI Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, Vlado Mezak - President of the Port Authority Rijeka, Phillip Marsham - AGCT CEO, and Žarko Acinger – AGCT Commercial Manager
The length of the new quay is an impressive 320 meters. The equipment, consisting of two Post Panamax STS high tonnage cranes, six RTGs and two RMGs, is valued at over 23 million euro. Thanks to this investment, AGCT is now as technologically equipped as the most modern ports in the world. This will enable AGCT to reach its strategic goal of transforming the Port of Rijeka into an inevitable destination for cargo being transported by maritime routes from all over the world to Central and Southeast Europe.
Phillip Marsham, AGCT CEO has opened the ceremony:
“The first phase of the Adriatic Gate project is behind us, in which all the necessary infrastructure needed for the transformation of the Port of Rijeka into the top port of the Adriatic has been put in place. In the next phase we will focus on finding business partners from the region and beyond so we could enable the even faster growth of traffic. We are certain that in this business process we will continue to have the strong support of the Croatian Government and Croatian Railways, whose role will be extremely important in the transport of cargo from the port to European destinations”.
Hans Ole Madsen, ICTSI Senior Vice President for EME Region followed up with: "Brajdica is the terminal for south-eastern Europe and the Balkan, which will grow in parallel with the development of the railway.".
Vojko Obersnel, Mayor of the city of Rijeka added: "This is the best way for the port of Rijeka to become one of the most important ports in South East Europe and return to the golden historical period when the arrival of railways from two directions and start of the port construction marked a big step forward in the growth of the city and the whole region."
"I am proud that Croatia has decided to participate in this successful project of construction of the container terminal, which proves the efficiency of public-private partnership. The Government will continue to secure full support for investments focused at the development of the Rijeka port and the associated transport route. With this project Rijeka secures a gateway to southern and central Europe and positions itself into the European network of transport routes. With the Croatia’s accession to the European Union Rijeka obtains a higher potential for development and access to the EU funds aimed at the development of transport infrastructure. One of the government's priorities is the development of railway transport route, which means that Rijeka will have high quality transport routes which ensuring growth. With these features Rijeka offers a new alternative to other ports in the region " - said Minister Siniša Hajdaš Dončić, adding that he is deeply convinced that by 2018th - 2019th least, Rijeka traffic route will be fully operational, meaning that the railway will be modernized with two tracks, noting that the Rijeka traffic story is priority no.1 for Croatia.
The speeches were followed by the official ribbon cutting which was jointly performed by Siniša Hajdaš Dončić - Croatian Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure and Fernando L. Gaspar - ICTSI Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer; thus marking this highly successful example of public-private partnership in the Republic of Croatia; where both parties (Republic of Croatia through the Port Authority Rijeka and ICTSI) have fulfilled their investment and construction plans within the deadlines.
