At the North Adriatic Ports Association's assembly, held on 17th July in Koper, the Presidents of NAPA ports were acquainted with the recent decision of the TEN-T's (Trans European Transport Network) Financial Board to financially support projects which NAPA members, in collaboration with other stakeholders in the field of logistics, detailed in response to the call for applications this March.

Joining together Luka Koper and its neighbouring partner ports in Italy and Croatia, these projects focus on the development requirements of the Northern Adriatic ports, including their rail and inland waterway connections. The largest of the projects endorsed is Napa Studies, which aims to develop multimodal links between the Northern Adriatic ports to ensure their efficient integration into a core network.

Anticipated to continue until the end of 2015, Napa Studies is directed by the Port of Rijeka Authority, and brings together Luka Koper, the Port of Trieste Authority, the Port of Venice Authority, the Ports of Mantua and Chioggia, HŽ Infrastruktura d.o.o., Prometni Institut Ljubljana d.o.o., Sistemi Territoriali s.p.a., Trieste University, the Central European Initiative and Rete Autostrade Mediterranee s.p.a. The budget for the project amounts to € 5,630,000 and this total will be 50 percent co-funded by the European Union.

Luka Koper has successfully applied for TEN-T projects in the past, including in relation to preliminary works for the extension of Pier I, as well as deepening the seabed at the Basin I Container Terminal quayside, both of which were co-funded within the Napaprog programme. In the context of Napa Studies, Luka Koper plans to elaborate project documentation for a berth at the Livestock Terminal, a tanker berth at the head of Pier II, the new Berth 12, the rearrangement of the silo quayside and the creation of a new berthing facilities, the construction of rail mounted gantry crane track at Pier I, rail track connecting Piers II and III, together with a the study of navigability Basin I (for improved navigation safety). The Slovenian partners in the project (including Slovenia’s national railway operator Slovenske Železnice, which participates indirectly through the Ljubljana Institute of Traffic and Transport) are also interested in studies related to railway connections linking the Port of Koper with its hinterland, which include the construction of new tracks as well as expansion of the railway network within the port zone.