Dredging project to deepen AGCT berths
The Port of Rijeka Authority and Nuova Co.Ed.Mar. S.r.l. recently signed the contract for the dredging alongside Adriatic Gate Container Terminal’s (AGCT) south berth, which will equalize the depth across the 428-meter section of the terminal’s 600-meter operative quay.
One of seven major infrastructure projects co-financed by the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the POR2CORE-AGCT Dredging (Upgrade of the Rijeka Port Infrastructure – AGCT Dredging, will deepen a 100-meter section of the quay to match the 14.9-meter depth across the 328-meter section of berth 2.
“The 100-meter deepening is crucial for our business, as the required berth depth is a key requirement for container shipping companies to efficiently keep calling the Port of Rijeka and for AGCT to remain a gateway in the Northern Adriatic, considering the constant cascading of larger vessels requiring deeper berth,” explained Emmanuel Papagiannakis, AGCT Chief Executive Officer.
He added: “The current depth across the 328-meter section restricts the number of containers that can be handled on container ships currently berthing at AGCT, reducing call size and creating underutilized vessels. With 100 meters of the seabed dredged, the largest vessels calling the Adriatic–up to 15,000 TEUs in capacity–can maximize their volumes without restriction and reduce their turnaround times.”
Another CEF project in the pipeline will further increase the depth to 16.5 meters to accommodate the next generation of larger vessels and further accelerate the flow of goods between Asia and Europe.
AGCT’s market continues to expand to Central Europe in connection to the development of new rail services between AGCT and south and central European countries. Compared to last year, AGCT’s rail share has grown by almost half to 42 percent on the backdrop of the Company’s support for an environmentally conscious supply chain.
Following the 20 percent volume increase in 2019, AGCT has recorded a 15 percent growth in overall volume for the first five months of 2020 despite the challenging environment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The terminal also set an all-time record for monthly volume, vessel exchange, and rail share during the month May.
Scope of dredging project at AGCT’s south berth
Dredging the 100-meter section of the berth to a depth of 14.9 meters will equalize the depth across the 428-meter section, allowing operations on 15,000-TEU vessels without restrictions.