€35 million agreement signed to upgrade Rijeka port infrastructure

(Photo credit: Antonio199cro/Creative Commons license)

ZAGREB, Sept 4 (Hina) – An agreement for the performance of work under the project “Upgrade of the Rijeka Port Infrastructure – Rijeka Basin” was signed in the northern Adriatic city on Friday.

The agreement is worth HRK 268 million (€35 million), of which 85% will be co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility. It was signed by the chairman of the Port of Rijeka management board, Dusko Grabovac, and the CEO of the Kolektor Koling company, Tine Vadnal.

The agreement provides for the reconstruction of 109,420 square metres of road surface, 12,161 metres of railway and 1,625 metres of crane track. The work is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

The director of the Port Authority, Denis Vukorepa, said that seven projects, worth a total of €132.8 million, had been launched in the past year for the reconstruction and modernisation of the port, adding that the projects were co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility. He said that documentation was being prepared for new projects in the 2021-2027 period.

(Photo credit: Antonio199cro/Creative Commons license)

Minister of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butkovic, said that the project showed the importance of EU funding, noting that without co-financing from EU funds it would not be possible to increase the competitiveness and strengthen the port of Rijeka. He said that it was important to properly prepare and implement the projects that would be financed from the fund in which €22 billion has been set aside for Croatia. “It will be the biggest test for this government,” the minister said.