Rijeka Gateway Project
Rijeka Gateway Project or Rijeka Traffic Route Redevelopment Project is a complex development program which aims at redeveloping port/city interface and improving the port traffic connection with the international road and railway corridors. In other words, the project seeks to reconcile the port operation requirements and the city urban and public needs. In an effort to achieve the objectives imposed by the traffic policy, these last years, after the foundation of the Port of Rijeka Authority, there have been several studies elaborated by the eminent expert groups in which the development potential of the Rijeka port has been dealt with. The last such study was worked out in 2008, by a renowned Dutch consultant firm, The Rotterdam Maritime Group. Their work is in fact the Master Plan of the Rijeka port development. The basic assumption on which the Master Plan set out its framework of the entire port development project is the relocation of the existing port facilities from Delta and, consequently, the redevelopment of the city centre area and its transformation into an urban precinct to provide for public promenade area, green belts, concert halls, commercial offices, residential apartments, tourist accommodation and the likes.
As foreseen, the new port facilities shall be developed on the following locations: in the western part of the Zagreb pier (Zagrebačka obala), within the Brajdica area and in the ports Bršica and Bakar, outside of Rijeka. All of the development components of the Master plan are incorporated in the Rijeka Gateway Project which, in addition to port modernization and restructuring, includes also the construction of the eastern leg of the Rijeka Bypass, from Orehovica to Križišće, connector roads Draga – Brajdica (D-404) and Čavle-Križišće, and the Krk bridge rehabilitation. Through this, Rijeka will be connected, in the best possible way, with the motorway Rijeka – Zagreb – Budapest which is a part of the Europian traffic corridors.
An important role in the realization of the Gateway Project is played by the World Bank. The Bank is financing the project by its loan RGP I and RGP II, which were granted between 2003 and 2009.
In compliance with the Master plan, the Rijeka port modernization should be carried out through several components, sub-projects respectively. In addition to the already mentioned conversion of Delta into a new urban precinct representing a public waterfront area in the city centre, the important components of the project are also the container terminal at the Zagreb pier , construction of the second phase of container terminal Brajdica, in order to increase its capacity and efficiency and improve its technological performances, as well as port passenger terminal at the Rijeka breakwater. The other components are Vessel Traffic Management System – VTMS, Electronic Data Interchange – EDI, ID cards, video control, ships waste disposal vessel, general cargo terminal at Raša, Ro-Ro terminal at Bakar and some small-scale sub-projects.
There can be no successful implementation of the Rijeka Gateway Project without an efficient and appropriate environmental protection. When implementing the environmental protection measures there should be strict compliance with the environment friendly policy and procedures of the World Bank and the Croatian legal framework which, for the most part, has been already brought into line with EU legislation dealing with environmental protection.