In a move to position itself in the growing market on the
Adriatic, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik (HHLA) announced that it is investing in
the Port of Trieste, including an option to develop additional space and
handling capacity. HHLA acquired a majority stake of 50.01 percent in the
multi-function terminal “Piattaforma Logistica Trieste” (PLT) in the Italian
seaport of Trieste.
“The Adriatic region has been developing very dynamically in
the past few years. As the northernmost port in the Mediterranean, Trieste is
the southern gateway to Central and Eastern Europe,” said Angela Titzrath,
Chairwoman of HHLA’s Executive Board. “The investment is a strategic expansion
to our existing port and intermodal network. The terminal gives us the
opportunity to actively participate in and help shape new and changing cargo
flows and underline our ambitions to grow internationally. At the same time, we
will continue to enhance our terminals in Hamburg by investing in facilities
and technology. We are a Hamburg company, at home in Europe and operating
globally.”
The terminal facilities are within the Free Port of Trieste
and take up a total area of 28 hectares. In the northern part of the
facilities, mainly general cargo transports and logistic services are being
handled. The new heart of the terminal is emerging in the southern part: the
newly developed area will start operations in the first quarter of 2021 and is
designed to handle container and RoRo traffic. The capacity of the PLT terminal
will then comprise a total of approximately 300,000 TEU (standard containers),
90,000 RoRo units, and 700,000 tonnes of general cargo. There is also the option
to significantly expand terminal capacity through additional adjacent areas.
“HHLA's participation strengthens the growth prospects of
PLT and of the entire Port of Trieste.,” commented Francesco Parisi, Chairman
of PLT's Executive Board. “Our development strategy in the direction of Central
and Eastern Europe fits in with HHLA's orientation. The position of the new
partners confirms us in the development of the terminal expansion we are
pushing ahead with.”
Among the further expansion opportunities, HHLA noted that
the PLT terminal has its own rail connection. The HHLA rail subsidiary Metrans
already connects the Port of Trieste with its European intermodal network. This
will be HHLA’s third participation in a port outside Hamburg after Odessa,
Ukraine and Tallinn, Estonia.