ICTSI wins tender for Rijeka Container Terminal, Croatia

Following an international competitive awarding procedure started early 2010, global container terminal operator ICTSI has officially been announced the winner of the tender to acquire 51% of the shares of Adriatic Gate, Croatia’s largest container terminal operator based in the port of Rijeka. Luka Rijeka, the existing shareholder of the company, remains a major shareholder in the company (49%).

During the official signing ceremony in Rijeka on 5 March 2011, the successful completion of the largest port transaction in Croatian history has become a fact. As part of this transaction, Philippines-based ICTSI will inject a substantial amount of new equity in Adriatic Gate to finance the initial investments in equipment and superstructure. These investments enable Adriatic Gate to strengthen its leading role in the Adriatic container stevedoring market and to remain the gateway port for Central and Eastern European countries.   

This high profile transaction, part of the larger Worldbank-financed Rijeka Gateway Project, has drawn much interest from major international container terminal operators after the official Request for Prequalification was launched in March 2010. Five reputable stevedores (APMT, HHLA, DP World, ICTSI and Grup TCB) pre-qualified and were invited to submit a binding offer in the subsequent Proposal stage. Three proposals were received by Luka Rijeka, resulting in the selection of ICTSI offering the highest bid.

Adriatic Gate operates the Brajdica Container Terminal in the port of Rijeka and has handled 167,000 TEU in 2010. To accommodate for the anticipated growth in container volumes in the Adriatic region, construction is well underway to expand the existing facility to cater for 500,000 TEU annually. The development which will be fully operational by early 2013 significantly improves the terminal’s stacking and berth capacity and enables the facility to receive Post-Panamax container vessels along its 630 meters of expanded quay wall.

ICTSI said the public tender process that resulted in it being named as the preferred bidder was “highly competitive” and “transparent”. The competitive awarding procedure was organized and implemented by Maritime & Transport Business Solutions (MTBS), a specialized port finance & strategy advisory firm from the Netherlands. For more information, please visit the website www.mtbs.nl.