Hungary one step closer to having its own seaport

The Hungarian government has been working on a Hungarian seaport for a long time now. As it appears, the dream is finally one step closer to becoming a reality. The competent port authority has approved the plans of the Hungarian-owned seaport . However, there is still a long way to go before Hungarian companies can use the port for their export activities. If all goes according to plan, China could be a big winner.

Napi.hu reported that the Port Authority of Trieste had approved the technical and economic feasibility plans for the loading and unloading Hungarian State-owned port station. However, a contractor has not been selected yet. The expected cost of the construction is around EUR 45 million. The company will have to make the canal navigable first, which will require dredging. In addition, the first phase of the work will also include building connection to the road network.

It had already been decided in 2021 that the complex business and technical feasibility study for the port of Trieste project would be done by PricewaterhouseCoopers Magyarország Ltd for EUR 445 thousand. Adria Port Ltd, the contracting authority, announced the results of the open tender in the EU public procurement gazette. The aim of the study is to showcase a development plan, that can be realised both technically and economically, to the contracting party.

The long-awaited seaport

The Hungarian government was working on getting a seaport on its own. In 2021, the government finally managed to seal the deal on the terminal in Trieste. We must add that back in 2019, the government already spent around EUR 30 million on Adria Port Ltd. Now that the government finally has the port, it will be a long time before it is fit for the purpose for which it is intended. According to Napi.hu, the terminal was formerly used by Aquila, an oil refinery company, for refining and hydrocarbon processing. The location has been abandoned and left to rust for the last decades. FM Szijjártó has told that Hungarian companies will be able to use the terminal in 2026. Italy has recently gained EUR 45 million to develop the seaport. This amount would cover the sea bed dredging, which is favourable to the Hungarian project.

Chinese interest

The terminal will further strengthen the Chinese–Hungarian trade relations. While Hungary is content with the New Silk Road project, Italy would back out from it. In 2019, Italy was the first G7 country to join the Silk Road economic and development programme. The decision was made by Italy’s PM at the time, Giuseppe Conte, in the hope of boosting the country’s economy. However, Italy did not see the expected economic growth. It was only China that got major profit from this agreement. Therefore, Italy might want to back out in 2024 when the contract expires. The current PM, Giorgia Meloni, has to notify China three months before the expiry date if the government decides to leave the agreement. If she fails to do so, the agreement will be renewed without any changes.