May 23 (SeeNews) - The Croatian government said on Thursday it is giving its consent to the management of Rijeka port to withdraw a 108.5 million kuna ($16.3 million/14.6 million euro) loan from local Erste&Steiermaerkische Bank.
The loan will be used to finance infrastructure development at the port and in particular the development of the southern connection at its Adriatic Gate container terminal, the government said in a statement after a regular cabinet meeting.
The aim of the project is to help the port accommodate the largest ships and to modernise Adriatic Gate's existing infrastructure.
In March, the Rijeka port operator invited expressions of interest in a procedure to award a concession contract to develop, operate and manage the Zagreb Deep Sea Container Terminal (Zagreb DSCT) at the port.
Daily Poslovni Dnevnik reported on Thursday that the port operator has received seven bids from major global players from Europe, the Middle and the Far East. According to unofficial reports, among the interested is China's CRBC which is building the Peljesac bridge in southern Croatia.
The estimated cost of the Zagreb DSCT project is 350 million euro, according to the project description published on the website of the European Commission last year.
The duration of the planned concession contract is estimated at 50 years, with a possibility for reduction, depending on the volume of the investment.
The container terminal has the goal of providing modern facility, berths with a depth of more than 20 meters and the necessary equipment systems for handling a new generation of vessels.
(1 euro = 7.42810 kuna)