RIJEKA GATEWAY PROJECT
Since the foundation of the Port of Rijeka Authority, and with the aim of effecting the established policies, several studies have been drawn by expert teams regarding the developmental possibilities of the port. These studies were also used during the making of the ten years development plan of the port of Rijeka, as well as in the two years developmental plans. The urgency with which these plans had to be made implied the necessity to stop the decrease of the port’s turnover, as well as the creation of conditions for a more effective port activity.
The World Bank and the Port of Rijeka Authority have accepted the proposal of the consultancy firm Rotterdam Maritime Group, The Netherlands, which has drawn up the Study of the Modernization of the Port of Rijeka.
On July 12th 2003 the agreement was signed by which the World Bank granted to the Government of the Republic of Croatia a loan of 155 million US dollars. Of exceptional importance are the projects regarding the modernization of existing and the expansion of new terminals, but for the town of Rijeka the waterfront project is of primary importance. This project implies the opening of the central part of the port area for commercial purposes, and the access of citizens to that part of the coastal area. It implies also that the passenger terminal, the southern part of Delta and the port ‘Porto Baroš’ will have completely different spatial and territorial plans with the aim of giving access to these parts of town to all the citizens thus creating new, attractive town spaces typical of Mediterranean towns.
This year the drawing of the project for a fishing ships’ port in the Torpedo area has begun. In the process of making is the project for the recovery and the extension of the breakwater, and for the deepening of the draft in the small port. The Port Authority and the town of Rijeka have become co-owners of most buildings around the Torpedo port. With this project the lack of space for fishing ships, due to the construction of the passenger terminal, will be solved. The project also comprises the idea of a fish exchange and all other adjoining services (shops, bars) together with the fishing port. Examples throughout the world show that fishing ports are important segments of harbor towns that cultivate their fishing traditions, but also create an attractive town center offering to citizens and tourists various attractions. This project aims to stimulate entrepreneurs to render additional and catering services inside the fishing port. In an economic sense, the project will give a new impetus to the fishing industry, which was greatly neglected.
The project of modernization of the port of Rijeka and of the road network is a very complex one. It is planned, besides modernizing and restructuring the port, to encompass with the project the construction of the east wing of the Rijeka roundabout, from Orehovica to Križišće, of the connecting roads Draga – Brajdica and Čavle - Križišće and the reconstruction of the bridge coast – island of Krk. With all this Rijeka, as well as the broader region, will have a qualitative connection to the highway Rijeka - Zagreb - Budapest, which is part of European traffic corridors. Such an envisaged project should solve the greatest problems of the Rijeka road junction.
PROJECT'S IMPLEMENTATION STAGES
Western part of the port of Rijeka – Zagreb wharf
By creating new areas in the Rijeka basin, by demolishing the old nonfunctional warehouses, as well as by building the new wharf, the realization of the project of a gradual relocation of the cargo part of the port, from today’s inadequate locations to the newly prepared areas in the western part of the port, will begin.
In the western part of the Rijeka basin, the building of a new multipurpose terminal (containers, timber, general cargo) is envisaged. The Rijeka Gateway Project plans the financing and the building of the first 250m, of the overall 600 m of new wharf. By building the remaining 600 m, at the end the wharf will be 1.200 m long and it will dispose with 300,000 m2 of new areas.
The wharf will be built on pillars and the sea depth along the wharf will be more than 20 m. The financing and the construction of the part of wharf not covered by the World Bank’s loan will be based on a BOT (build, operate, transfer) contract.
For the new wharf to be adequately connected with the Rijeka roundabout, i.e. with the main traffic routes leading towards Zagreb, Ljubljana and Dalmatia, the construction of a new connecting road is planned (the road D - 403 1.9 km long).
The warehouses in the western part of the harbor are no longer adequate for the storing of goods, and since the area of the commercial port has no possibility of expansion, to be competitive with other North-Adriatic ports, these warehouses are going to be demolished and instead new warehouses are going to be built which are more suited to the needs of storing cargoes. Because of their cultural heritage value, the warehouses no.12 and 17 will be kept and reconstructed.
Passenger terminal (Central port - port Baroš - Delta)
With this part of the project, the reconstruction of 17 hectares of land is planned upon which currently there are different port activities, warehouses and parking lots.
The project comprises the construction of:
a modern ferry terminal to be built along the existing passenger wharf on a part of the Rijeka breakwater, with the concomitant buildings on the Senj quayside;
a passenger wharf;
a nautical center – marina;
different commercial and cultural-entertainment centers;
roads connecting the port with the Rijeka roundabout;
The project plans the building of a new road (D-404 4.4 km long) across the area of Brajdica, which will connect the container terminal and the Sušak basin with the Rijeka roundabout, i.e. with the main traffic routes leading towards Zagreb, Ljubljana and Dalmatia.
This project intends to convert part of the commercial port into a passenger port, because of inadequate conditions of transshipment on the existing locations. For the realization of this part of the project, some types of cargo which is being manipulated in the central part of the port (timber and bulk cargo) have to be moved to specialized terminals. The bulk cargo will be transferred to Bakar - terminal for bulk cargo, and the timber to the western part of the port were a multipurpose terminal will be built – the Zagreb wharf.
With the implementation of this part of the project, Rijeka will regain the image of a maritime and Mediterranean town.