At the ceremony were the Croatian Prime Minister, Andrej Plenkovic, and the Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, in addition to the CEO of Maersk, Vincent Clerc
Rijeka – After a month and a half of running-in, the Rijeka Gateway of the port of Rijeka is grandly inaugurating its activities. The occasion is provided by the docking of the Alva Maersk, the largest container ship to have ever called at the Croatian port. Also participating in the ceremony were the Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and the Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, as well as the CEO of Maersk, Vincent Clerc, representing the company that controls the network of docks managed through Apm Terminals.
The new dock, born from the joint venture between Apm Terminals and the Croatian Enna Group, represents the largest private investment in the country’s logistics, providing Rijeka with a second container pier integrated into the connections of the Gemini alliance between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd. The Alva Maersk operates on the Gemini routes from the Far East and is the eighth commercial vessel to have called at the Rijeka Gateway: it is one of the 18 dual-fuel units owned by Maersk, which launched the new container ship in March of this year, with its nominal capacity of over 16,000 TEUs.
During the event, Plenkovic emphasized that “with this project, Rijeka stands alongside the major ports of the Northern Adriatic and becomes the new intermodal interconnection hub of the region. This project is part of the government’s broader activities for the modernization of the country, such as the forward-thinking liquefied natural gas terminal project on the island of Krk, which has contributed to the security and diversification of supply routes and thanks to which Croatia is becoming a regional energy market for gas, as it already is for oil.” The Prime Minister then highlighted the enhancement of the highway connection serving the port, although the real test will now be the construction of the so-called lowland railway line.
Løkke Rasmussen stated for his part that “Rijeka Gateway is of great importance for Croatia, Denmark, and Europe. Security is not only a military matter, but also one of partnership. This terminal is an example of a Europe that unites, in this case through major infrastructure projects.” He was echoed by Clerc, according to whom “ports are strategically important and Europe must manage them as strategic priorities, adopting a common approach to the development of this critical infrastructure.”
“In three years, this container terminal, the most modern in this part of Europe, was built from the ground up thanks to the support of the shareholders and the local, regional, and state authorities. Our ambition is to become one of the best terminals in the Apm Terminals network,” said the General Manager of Rijeka Gateway Peter Corfitsen.
The Director of the Rijeka Port Authority, Denis Vukorepa, finally praised the project as the largest and most important in the history of the port. A terminal now equipped with an annual capacity of 650,000 TEUs, but capable of exceeding one million, at the end of the total investment of 380 million euros planned. Rijeka Gateway has been in operation since the beginning of September, with nearly 300 employees and equipped with 4 remote-controlled ship-to-shore cranes, 15 rubber-tyred gantry cranes, 2 rail-mounted gantry cranes, and 28 tractors. All managed from a single remote control center and connected with the first private industrial 5G network in Croatia.
