As Morski writes, a large conference was held at the Rijeka terminal where experts from the maritime industry, shipbuilding, digitalisation and other key people in Croatian tourism and maritime affairs gathered. They were led by representatives of the Lurssen Group and ACI, who presented projects whose implementation will change the face of Kvarner in the next few years.
One of the most important topics was the future ACI Marina Rijeka, which will be the largest investment in nautical tourism in the Republic of Croatia so far and which will create more than 130 new jobs within the functioning of the marina itself.
The first panel paid special attention to the digital age and the impact of the introduction of digital technologies in the maritime industry, as well as the impact of technologies that are being rapidly implemented, and need to be mapped, analysed and implemented in good time.
The second panel opened up some other important issues related to the use of hydrogen and the benefits of developing the potential of a hydrogen economy that is in line with the objectives of the European Hydrogen Strategy. The key topic was the establishment of the Northern Adriatic hydrogen valley by Croatia, Italy and Slovenia with the aim of developing the potential for the production and use of renewable hydrogen.
”The realisation of a cross-border hydrogen valley will represent a transition to an integrated energy ecosystem that will include the energy, industry and transport sectors. Cooperation on joint innovation projects will lead to the accelerated development of hydrogen technologies and the creation of value chains,” said Stephen Taylor, coordinator of the Working Group of the Hydrogen Valley IT-HR-SLO and Deputy Director of Area Science Park in Trieste, Italy.
The Kvarner of the Future conference was concluded by the third panel, which focused on the future ACI Marina Rijeka. The president of the management board of ACI, Kristijan Pavic, and member of the management board for Investments, Marketing and Retail of ACI d.d., Josip Ostrogovic, both emphasised that the future ACI Marina Rijeka will set new standards in the entire region when it comes to building nautical tourism ports. One of the key development potentials in this regard is certainly the development of new technologies.
The future ACI Marina Rijeka will be a green and fully digitalised marina and a centre for the development of new technologies that will be applied in the future in nautical tourism, both on board vessels and in the marinas themselves.
Provided that everything goes according to plan and without any unforeseen circumstances cropping up, the start of construction work could be in the middle of next year. The sea part of the marina could be opened in 2024, and the entire marina in 2026.
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