Decisions regarding concession over Gaženica Port in Zadar continue to provoke backlash from the local community
The 20-year concession agreement for Gaženica Port in Zadar went to Global Ports Holding, a Turkish company that recently had its concession deal for Gruž Port in Dubrovnik terminated due to required legal and formal conditions not having been fulfilled. The decision provoked outrage from the opposition and part of the local population in Zadar, reports Morski.hr on March 22, 2018.
Gaženica Port, whose construction project was worth 1,5 billion kuna, was awarded to the Turkish bidder for a total cost of 32 million kuna – to be more precise, an amount 47 times lower than the original cost. Political opposition thus staged a protest on Narodni Square in Zadar on Wednesday, demanding the agreement be terminated, and calling for the Management Board and Director of the Port Authority Zadar to be removed at once.
Robert Škifić, director of the Port Authority Zadar, attempted to convince the citizens there is no reason to worry in regards to this latest decision, releasing a statement that claims the entire process was transparent from the beginning and supervised by numerous competent bodies and experts. Škifić compared Gaženica Port to the famous sea organ in Zadar, another project that sparked negative reactions, but ended up becoming a world-renowned tourist attraction – one that is still solely funded by the citizens, remarked Morski.hr.
The tourist boards of Zadar County and the City of Zadar also jumped to the Port Authority’s defense, stating the new port will certainly drive local economic growth. They did so by wording their arguments in a somewhat poetic way, saying that each sold souvenir and each coffee paid for by a guest make for considerable income when such large numbers of guests are implied.
