Port that plays to its strengths

PORT OF RIJEKA I PROFILE

Situated in the Kvarner Gulf of Croatia, the Port of Rijeka is well connected to the Danube region and Central Europe. One of its greatest assets is its advantageous location and knowing how to use it. The port offers solutions for maritime traffic, port services and the storage of cargo. The history of the port stretches back centuries; it was first mentioned in written texts in 1281. These days, its focus is on expansion, growth and adaptability, and its longevity may be down to its intelligent use of resources. Duško Grabovac, President of the Management Board, explained more to Hannah Barnett.

AN advantage of the Port of Rijeka, (and of North Adriatic ports in general), over those in the North Sea or Baltic is that they provide a short link between Europe and Asia. With that in mind, the Port of Rijeka has an exceptional geo-traffic position that it uses to its full advantage. “We are the closest and most cost-efficient transfer location for rail and road,” said Duško Grabovac, President of the Management Board at the Port of Rijeka. With 646 employees, the port is positioned across several sprawling sites and terminals. It is becoming better equipped and modernised with ongoing work. The draught depth is above 18m and allows

access to large ships. The depth will be increased to 20m with the construction of new facilities.

A range of resources

Mr Grabovac gave a clear impression of the scale and scope of activity: “Our port is capable of accepting any type of cargo. Others are more specialist. From the cattle terminal to the wood business unit, we can accept everything.”

The cattle terminal is situated in the Raša Port Basin and offers a multi-purpose site for reception and transhipment of live cattle, timber and bulk cargo. The sea depth along the wharf is eight metres. The maximum annual capacity at the terminal is 600,000 tonnes and there are vets on hand to control cattle. It has berth facilities for two ships and storage facilities for approximately 1,000 head of large livestock.

The wood business unit, on the other hand, offers one-time storage capacity of timber between 35,000 and 50,000 cubic metres, depending on the type of timber. The unit has a sea depth of ten metres and a favourable climate for the drying of sawn timber.

These are just two of the wide range of services the port has to offer. Mr Grabovac was particularly enthusiastic about another arm of the operation. “One of the most

PORT OF RIJEKA I PROFILE

significant resources we have is the huge inland terminal,” he said. “It is a facility we use to our advantage. It is almost 500,000 square-metres, located in Škrljevo, about 10km from the Rijeka Basin and 3km from Bakar. And the terminal is one of our key advantages against our competitors.”

The terminal is certainly a major strategic asset for the port. Boasting eight modern warehouses, it is excellently equipped as a hinterland terminal and multipurpose logistics centre, intended for warehousing and handling containers and timber, plus general and bulk cargo.

Like much of the port’s facilities, the space is well connected to railway and highways and has six rail tracks with a total length of 3,500 metres.

Expansion and growth

Expansion continues at the port. Work is ongoing on the reconstruction of railway tracks and roads, as well as the communal infrastructure in the Rijeka basin. The goal of the project is to increase the efficiency of cargo handling and to enable better connectivity with the Trans-European Transport Network. The investment is worth €28.5 million, before tax.

Mr Grabovac emphasised the significance of this project: “We are in the full process of renewing the railways and road infrastructure in the Port of Rijeka. This is partly financed by European funds. We have finished our period of renovation of the infrastructure in Bakar and we are not far from the end of the same thing here in Rijeka. We will finish this process at the end of 2023, and then we will have really good, robust road infrastructure.”

Investment into the improvement of resources paid dividends for the company in 2022. “We had a very good first three quarters,” Mr Grabovac said. “We increased cargo by 21%. We have had a very good year and that is a consequence of several things.

“We renewed our Refrigerated Cargo terminal so the frigo cargo increased. Silo also made very good results in the last year. Our maximum annual capacity of silo is 1 million tonnes. And the port has also had very good results for iron ore and coal in 2022.”

The road ahead

Looking ahead, Mr Grabovac was realistic that there are challenges facing the port, as for any other company any other company operating in the global market. He emphasised that maintaining strong part-

nerships with the port’s network of partners will be one way to safely navigate any approaching turbulence.

“Very unpredictable times are coming,” he reflected. “That is because we don’t know the price of the electricity, the price of fuel. There is so much inflation. These are the things that are problematic at the moment. But we are working closely with our partners about how to face the future.”

The company has developed strong partnerships with clients and suppliers in order to establish a stable market position, in Croatia, as well as abroad. But Mr Grabovac was clear that more growth and investment is needed for the port to really flourish and reach its full potential.

He laid out his vision for the next few years: “After the current process of renovation, we need a serious investment into facilities. First of all, in Bakar, we need to invest in cranes, in forklifts, in other types of infrastructure. We have bought two new cranes and several forklifts, but we need more. More investment. That way we will be more competitive, and our performance will be better.”

The Port of Rijeka, while adept at using its strengths, is not a company which rests on its laurels. Instead, the port constantly strives for improvement, growth and development. n