EU funds for the deepening of the entry channel in the Koper cargo port
Ljubljana, 10 July 2012 – Ministry of Economic Development and Technology (MEDT), as the Managing Authority for the EU structural funds and the Cohesion Fund, issued a decision granting EU funds for the deepening of the entry channel in the Koper cargo port. The project, which is worth 15.7 million Euros, is part of the Operational Programme for Development of the Environmental and Transport Infrastructure, and will be co-financed by the Cohesion Fund in the amount of 13.3 million Euros. The objective of the project, which is foreseen to be concluded by the end of April 2015, is to deepen the entry channel in one of the Koper cargo port – from the current 11.4 metres to 15 metres. The realisation of the project will enable ships with a deeper draught to enter the port; it will also improve the competitiveness and the recognition of the port.
The Koper cargo port represents the Southern doors of Europe for international commercial maritime routes. The Port of Koper is one of the most important logistics-distribution centres due to its location and its role of connecting commercial centres in the Central and Eastern Europe with the Mediterranean region. As the central point of contact between the maritime highways of the Adriatic–Ionic corridor and the transportation routes of intermodal corridor V in the framework of TEN–T it has an important role, especially in the countries of the central part of the European Union. According to the EIB the Port of Koper is one of the priority sea ports in the framework of the Tran-European Networks (TEN) and is connected to the 6th TEN priority project, the railway axis Lyon–Tireste–Divača/Koper–Ljubljana–Budapest–border with Ukraine.
To assure a safe navigation it is of extreme importance that the navigation channels for the bigger modern cargo and passenger ships, with a draught of up to 17 or 18 metres, are deep enough. Due to the accumulation alluvium of the smaller watercourses, tide and, of course, the mass maritime traffic, the depth of the channels need to be monitored constantly to prevent them being overfilled with sludge and sand.
The existing depth of the entry channel hinders the arrival of the bigger container ships (the port now receives ships with the load capacity of 7,000 TEU), which means that the Port of Kper does not take advantage of its potentials to the fullest. The deepening of the entry channel will enable the entrance of the ships with a deeper draught and contribute to the growth and development of port activity. Various deepening solutions were evaluated (13 metres, 14 metres, 15 metres). The results of the evaluation showed that the solution, which foresees the deepening to 15 metres, is most sensible.
The funds in the amount of 1.57 billion Euros in the framework of the Operational Programme for Development of the Environmental and Transport Infrastructure for the period 2007-2013 are primarily meant for the modernisation or construction of new infrastructure in the field of environment and transport. The smaller share of these funds is also meant for the projects in the field of sustainable energy use.
