Construction of Hungary’s seaport moves one step closer – But with reduced functionality

From September until the end of next year, seabed cleaning will be carried out at the Port of Trieste, where Hungary holds a concession. Once the area has been cleaned, the site, which was originally purchased five years ago, will serve as Hungary’s seaport, functioning as a logistics base for cargo traffic and container management.

According to HVG, citing a statement from the Trieste port authority, the cleaning of the port area where the Hungarian state holds a concession will commence on 2nd September and is expected to continue until 31st December 2025.

Authorities have also approved plans to modify the Hungarian concession area. The new plans involve straightening the quay and removing the pier that accommodates ro-ro (roll-on/roll-off) ships. In practice, this change means that the quay will no longer be able to handle barges and ferries. Additionally, the Hungarian concession area will be reduced from 63,200 square metres to 60,500 square metres.

No progress on Hungary’s seaport in the last five years

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and then-Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini announced in 2019 that Hungary would establish a port and logistics base in the Italian city of Trieste. The ‘Hungary’s seaport’ deal was finally concluded at the end of 2020.

At the time, Szijjártó said that Hungary had purchased a 32-hectare plot with a 300-metre shoreline in the Port of Trieste for EUR 31 million, as part of a 60-year concession agreement. He stressed that “the agreement marks the beginning of a new chapter in Hungarian-Italian relations, with cooperation between the two countries never having been so promising.”

Technically, as HVG points out, Hungary did not purchase the port itself, but rather acquired a concession along with the land behind the concession area, valid until 2074.