September the 10th, 2026 – Rijeka Gateway is doing excellently, but proper Croatian railway improvement is now necessary to continue the momentum.
At the Rijeka Gateway container terminal, more than 370,000 container units (TEU) were handled in the first year of commercial operations. Sinisa Malus reports for Poslovni that one hundred ships called at the terminal, and it is expected that in 2027 the full capacity of the first phase of investment in the terminal will be achieved, with around 650,000 container units (TEU) handled.
“In Rijeka and the wider region, a technologically advanced terminal like this did not exist. Our jobs and processes are special and very complex, so building a team that can compete at that level with the best terminals is a source of pride not only for all of us at Rijeka Gateway, but also for Rijeka and the whole of Croatia.
new logistics corridors
Important new logistics corridors have connected Rijeka with the region, which is a major value brought by our terminal. The third thing is that we have continued to carefully monitor our impact on the environment and the community with the aim of being a good neighbour to the citizens of Rijeka. We have successfully certified our environmental management system according to the ISO 14001:2015 standard, confirming our commitment to environmental protection, and we continuously communicate with the local community on all topics related to the quality of life of citizens,” said Peter Corfitsen, President of the Management Board of Rijeka Gateway. Since its opening, the terminal has received more than a thousand trains and over 80,000 trucks. The current modal split for cargo leaving the terminal is 42 percent by rail and 58 percent by road. The entry and exit process for truck transport has been fully digitalised, which speeds up truck processing and reduces waiting times, thereby reducing the burden on traffic and pollution. The average truck processing time is around 15 minutes, and the shortest time achieved for a truck is ten minutes, on a day when more than 500 trucks were processed.
investment in the local community
“By handling 370,000 TEU of cargo, we have significantly increased the overall capacity of the Port of Rijeka and are rapidly approaching the figures we planned, that is, reaching a throughput of 650,000 TEU and, in the second phase, one million TEU. During the first year of operations, Rijeka Gateway maintained a high level of operational reliability, with 98 percent availability of port equipment and 99 percent availability of key systems on the operational quay and storage areas, which is at the level of the best terminals.
For the full potential of the terminal, the planned increase in railway traffic capacity will be key, and we welcome the activities of the Croatian Government in this regard. We’ll continue to invest in the local community, especially through cooperation with the Faculty of Maritime Studies and the University of Rijeka, through various scholarship and education programmes, as well as through donation programmes aimed at Rijeka kindergartens and primary schools,” said Tomislav Rosandić, Member of the Management Board of Rijeka Gateway.
