Hungary has begun work on a port on the Adriatic coast near the Italian city of Trieste, Hungary Today reports.
Hungary’s deputy foreign minister Levente Magyar said it was being built on land leased from the Italian government after several years of negotiations.
Hungary is separated from the Adriatic by the states of the former Yugoslavia.
It used to have a port in Rijeka (Fiume), in present-day Croatia, but lost it after the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I. Since 2001, Hungary has been granted the right to use Rijeka as a duty-free port.
Speaking during a visit to the construction site, Magyar said the port would be operating at full capacity in 2028. He added that it would have 650m of coastline and 30ha of land for docks, warehouses and logistics.
He said: “Hungary must have channels through which it can most effectively connect to global supply chains, create new jobs, increase the return on its exports and help national companies operate.”
He added that the scheme had a strategic importance beyond imports and exports.
“If the country does not have its own seaport, it will always be at the mercy of others. We would like to change this situation, because Hungary, as the 34th largest exporter in the world, must have the channels to connect to global supply chains in the most efficient way, to create jobs, to make Hungarian exports more efficient, and to help Hungarian companies to operate,” he said.
The scheme is being built by state-owned developer Adria Port. The investment value is estimated at several hundred million euros.
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