INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services, Inc, operator of the Adriatic Gate Container Terminal, recently signed another agreement with the Croatian Railways that increases the terminal’s intermodal capacity.
Antonio Passaro, AGCT chief executive officer, said two rail tracks were included in the original terminal concession. A shunting area, located at the terminal’s outer north side, has 13 tracks, each with a track of 400 meters. AGCT has taken over five tracks of the 13.
AGCT is in discussion with the Croatian Railways to take over up to 550 meters of tracks to enable the terminal to facilitate 70 twenty-foot equivalent unit block trains.
Presently, trains handle 20% of total containers into the terminal while the rest are handled by trucks.
AGCT is being primed to become the international trading gateway for central and southeastern Europe serving Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, south Poland, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, all of which are natural hinterlands of the Port of Rijeka.
Rijeka, situated in the northern part of the Bay of Kvarner, is the largest seaport in Croatia, the second economic center after the capital city, Zagreb, and the third largest Croatian city.
AGCT is ICTSI’s first venture into Croatia, and the largest Philippine investment in Southeast and Central Europe.
AGCT plans to invest over 70 million euros during the initial phase of the concession. Key investments include new super-post Panamax quay cranes, high-density rubber tired gantries and other mobile handling equipment, comprehensive vessel operations and container terminal management systems, state of the art automated gates, and leading edge security systems.
