COSCO eyes investment in north Croatian Port of Rijeka






Chinese shipping group plans to turn port into China's main link to mainland Europe
COSCO, the Chinese shipping conglomerate, is interested in investing in the Croatian Port of Rijeka, according to COSCO chairman Wei Jiafu.
“It is interesting for us in terms of (getting a) concession” to manage the northern Adriatic port, Jiafu told reporters following a meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic earlier this week.
Jiafu was part of a COSCO delegation that had arrived in Croatia to discuss how they could use Rijeka as China’s main link to mainland Europe, which would shorten the transit time for COSCO vessels travelling from the Asian country significantly.
In a statement, Milanovic said that he and his government would do all it can to “remove obstacles to (Chinese) investments.”
“So far there were a lot of talks (between the two sides), now is the right time to put them into action,” he added.
According to Sinisa Hajdas Doncic, Croatia’s Transport Minister, the shipping group is also interested in linking the port with the capital Zagreb via rail at an expected cost of €3 billion.
Last week, the Rijeka Port Authority signed an agreement to build a brand new container terminal in Rijeka Port. The terminal, scheduled for completion in 2017, will be one of the main components of the Rijeka Gateway project, which aims to modernize the Port of Rijeka.
The expansion of the existing Port of Rijeka will cost up to €1 billion, added Doncic.
China is responsible for nearly 5 percent of Croatia’s global trade, and is by far Croatia's leading commercial partner outside Europe.
In 2011, Croatia exported around €28 million of goods to China and imported goods totaling around €1 billion.

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