Port of Rijeka multimodal platform development set for June completion

Rijeka, Croatia (Ports Europe) May 22, 2020 - Port of Rijeka multimodal platform development and interconnection to Adriatic Gate (Jadranska vrata) container terminal (EU Project - POR2CORE-AGCT), a joint project of the Port Authority of Rijeka and HŽ Infrastruktura (Croatian Railways), is expected to be completed by June. The project includes the reconstruction of the railway station Rijeka Brajdica and construction of Brajdica intermodal container terminal. The agreement for the project was signed in 2015 between the EU Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA), based on approval from the European Commission (EC), Port Authority of Rijeka (as coordinator) and HZ Infrastruktura (beneficiary). The total value of the project is €35.6 million ($38.79 million) with HŽ Infrastruktura contributing €26 million. Maximum co-financing from the EU Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is 85% of the total value of the project, or €30.26 million. CEF is a key EU funding instrument that supports the development of high performing, sustainable and efficiently interconnected trans-European networks in the fields of transport, energy and digital services. CEF investments fill the missing links in Europe's energy, transport and digital backbone. The reconstruction of the railway station and the construction of a new container terminal will have a considerable impact on the existing capacity of the station and will provide technical requirements for interoperability in accordance with Directive 2008/57/EC and Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI) for the trans-European conventional rail network. The contract for project works worth HRK 220,751,649.34 (€29.14 million), was signed by HŽ Infrastruktura and Port Authority of Rijeka in April 2018, with the consortium Kolektor Koling and Euro-Asfalt. The reconstruction of Brajdica station includes a total of eight tracks in the railway area and the construction of four new tracks in the port area. In the port area, 400 m long tracks were constructed on a concrete base, lighting pillars and portals of overhead contact line support, and cable ducting is being built. The project will allow a more flexible direction of train traffic. It will also increase the capacity of the line. The most complicated works are for the construction and extension of a 400 m long turnout track tunnel. In addition to the existing tracks, the tunnel has been expanded to include another track, so, alongside regular train operation, it will be possible to handle freight trains at the same time. In the period January-March 2020, Adriatic Gate Container Terminal (AGCT) transshipped 68,000 container units, up 12% on the same period of 2019. Transhipment by rail in the first quarter was 50% higher compared to the same period last year. The facility had a strong start to the year with 20% growth, but has been inevitably affected by the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis in March. April saw a slight recovery in exports, but further forecasts are difficult to make in a country with a strong dependency on tourism, which has stalled due to the pandemic. Earlier this month, HŽ Infrastruktura signed a contract with bidders for the preparation of documentation for study for the modernization of the M202 Zagreb GK–Rijeka railway, on the Oštarija–Škrljevo section, worth HRK 17.9 million (€2.37 million). Bidders include ŽPD Granova, Institut IGH, Rijekaprojekt and IPZ, and the deadline for the preparation of study documentation is 16 months. The contract is the first phase of the implementation of the Grant Agreement concluded between HŽ Infrastruktura and the EU’s Executive Agency for Innovation and Networks (INEA), with a total value of €7 million. The EU’s CEF is providing 85% of the financing. The existing line on the section Ostarije–Skrljevo is part of the main railway line M202 Zagreb GK (Main Station) – Rijeka within the corridor RH2 and an integral part of the basic Trans-European transport network of the Mediterranean Corridor. The modernization of that railway section is part of the pan-European project of modernization of the railway line Rijeka–Zagreb–Hungarian border, whose goal is the development of efficient and competitive railway traffic along the Mediterranean Corridor, the statement concludes. The Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) is the successor organisation of the Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency (TEN-T EA), which was created by the European Commission in 2006 to manage the technical and financial implementation of its TEN-T programme. The Mediterranean Corridor crosses six EU countries (Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary), over more than 6.000 km along the route: Almeria–Valencia/Madrid–Zaragoza/Barcelona–Marseille–Lyon-Turin–Milan–Verona–Padua/Venice–Trieste/Koper–Ljubljana–Budapest–Záhony. In February, Luka Rijeka has signed the contract to forward the “Improvement of the infrastructure of the Port of Rijeka–Bulk Cargo Terminal Bakar” project (POR2CORE-BCTB). The contract worth HRK 48.49 million (€6.51 million) was signed with GP Krk, Colas Rail Croatia and its French parent company Colas Rail S.A.S., and covers railway, transport and storage infrastructure improvements. The project is a joint work of the Port Authority of Rijeka and the Port of Rijeka dd., with the EU’s CEF providing 85% of the finance. Existing railway infrastructure is aging, severely damaged and unsafe, hindering the efficiency of daily port operations. The project’s main objective is the reconstruction of the railway infrastructure connecting the Podbok terminal to the existing Bakar freight railway station. The work is part of a wider project for the development of the port of Rijeka, which is a pre-identified section of the EU Mediterranean Core Network Corridor of the TEN-T network. The terminal for bulk cargo, located in the Bay of Bakar, is equipped for the transhipment and storage of iron ore, coal and other bulk cargoes. Its special value lies in the fact that it has an operative pier with sea depth of 18 meters all along the pier, enabling the reception of ships of up to 150,000 DWT. The total annual capacity is 4 million tonnes. Rijeka is Croatia’s largest seaport, second economic centre and third largest city. Adriatic Gate Container Terminal (AGCT) has efficient connectivity to European hinterlands including a strategic location with 2,000 nautical miles shorter in route than via Northern European ports. AGCT offers a liberalised railway market wherein any EU railway operator is licensed to operate their own locomotive/wagons within Croatia with no rail access fee at AGCT rail infrastructure, competitive capabilities in handling the largest vessels currently present in the North Adriatic, and equal regulations in all customs, tax and Border Inspection Procedures (BIP) as any other EU port. AGCT is part of ITCSI (International Container Terminal Services), a Philippines-based global developer, manager and operator of container terminals in the 50,000 to three million TEU/year range. ITSCI holds 51% of the share equity and Luka Rijeka d.d. 49%. Further Ports Europe news on Rijeka port can be accessed here. Copyright (C) Ports Europe. All Rights Reserved. 2020.

Port of Rijeka multimodal platform development set for June completion

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Port of Rijeka multimodal platform development set for June completion

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