The visit by the World Bank mission, headed by project manager Gerald Ollivier, was the first visit by the Bank's supervisory team since a loan agreement on the project was signed in November last year. The visit also coincided with the signing of the first major contract on preparatory works for the construction of the port terminals.
On February 22 the port authorities and two Croatian companies, Osijek Koteks and Luka Ploce Gradnja, signed the first project contract, which refers to preparatory works.
Ollivier said that all partners in the project had demonstrated great commitment to the project.
Ploce Port director Tomislav Batur said he believed in the accomplishment of the project's main objectives - improving the port's competitiveness and making the port the key point of entry/exit on Corridor Vc, which is one of the three biggest pan-European transport corridors linking Croatia with EU markets.
The project"s objective is to develop trade along Corridor Vc by improving the capacity, efficiency and quality of services on the southern end of the corridor, with a particular focus on the port of Ploce and on coordination aspects among all corridor participants.
The Trade and Transport Integration Project includes the construction of a bulk cargo terminal and a multipurpose container terminal, and of a system for integrating information flows in the port and along the corridor.
The value of the project is estimated at EUR 91 million, and the World Bank is financing it with a USD 58.8 million loan.
The project is also financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EUR 11.2 million), the Croatian government and the port authorities.