Seven companies from Europe, the Middle East and the Far East have expressed interest in the construction of the new container terminal in Rijeka, the Rijeka Port Authority director Denis Vukorepa said, adding that he was not allowed to disclose their names and references, reports Jutarnji List on May 19, 2019.
However, sources close to the government have disclosed that among the interested companies is the Chinese consortium Ningbo Port and CRBC (China Road and Bridge Company), the company that is constructing the Pelješac Bridge and the port of Singapore.
After analysing the documents received, which is expected in the next 15 days, all seven applicants (or perhaps fewer, depending on the quality of their references and project visions) will be invited to send their final bids for a 50-year concession. The estimated value of the concession (excluding VAT) is 20.5 billion kuna.
“These are respectable port terminal operators. We are very pleased because we were hoping for such a response. It turned out that this transport route is very interesting,” said Vukorepa. The first stage of the concession process formally concluded on Friday, and the plan is to sign a contract for the Zagreb Deep Sea terminal by the end of September.
The tender is looking for a concessionaire for the performance of construction works and the provision of services, with the obligation of investing about 70 to 80 million euro in the construction of the terminal which is now 400 meters long and was partially built as part of the project with the World Bank and the European Union.
During the recent visit by the Chinese prime minister to Croatia, it was announced that Chinese companies were interested in the concession, but Vukorepa did not want to comment on this information.
The intention is to build the Zagreb Deep Sea terminal in the second phase up to a total length of 680 meters. If the concessionaire is not interested in this, the concession would be reduced to 30 years. The Port Authority is offering to the concessionaire a ten-year exclusivity, meaning that no new capacities for container shipment would be built during that period. The main advantage of the new terminal is that it will be able to receive ultra-large container ships because the sea depth is 20 metres.
The Port Authority says that it is expected that the ports of the northern Adriatic will reach their maximum capacity by the next year, which means that the new terminal will be constructed in just the right moment. It will be able to transport more than 400,000 TEU per year in the first phase, and at least 800,000 to one million TEU per year when it reaches full capacity, foreseen for 2030.
Translated from Jutarnji List (reported by Gordana Grgas).
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