The Port of Koper has launched a development project designed to extend its container handling operations and increase capacity.
In a statement, the Slovenian port said the first phase of the project will consist of a quayside extension of 98.5m in length and 34.4m in width.
This phase is expected to be completed by March 2021 and bring the total length of the quay to 695m. The second phase will result in 24.830m2 of additional stacking areas for containers being constructed – the Port expects this to be completed in 2022.
With the extension of Pier I the Port’s annual capacity will rise to 1.3 million TEU. Together with the optimisation of various terminal processes, the capacity is expected to increase further to 1.5 million TEU a year.
In addition to the annual capacity increase, daily yard capacity will also benefit from these investments. The average yard utilisation in 2020 fluctuates between 60% and 70%, which enables smooth operations on all levels. New stacking areas will provide additional room for handling occasional peaks, when the daily yard utilisation can exceed 90% of the capacity.
The value of the investment is $53.7 million (€45.6 million) partially co-financed from the NAPA4CORE project of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme.
With the optimisation of processes, we have also increased the capacity of the railway segment of the container terminal, contributing to reliable and time-efficient intermodal services.
A fourth Rail-Mounted Gantry (RMG), which should become operational this September, will further strengthen the performance on the rail segment.
