The Rijeka development agency Porin d.o.o. is a partner in the project POWER – Ports as Entrepreneurial Realm from the Interreg ADRION programme. As the project approaches its completion, three important activities have been carried out.
The first relates to the creation of a Strategic Outlook for the Port of Rijeka (Local Strategic Outlook) for the purpose of better monitoring and improving the transition of ports to innovation centers. A framework has been developed to address strategic themes and issues to be followed, as well as proposals for actions to be taken in the future to turn ports into innovation hubs. These prospects are prepared on the basis of recognized activities that affect the development of ports in the future. They are composed of general development strategies as well as specific development strategies in the field of energy. In total, seven lines of action have been identified, partly to strengthen the energy role of the port – the energy hub and the energy saving hub – and partly to strengthen their role as a key transport and logistics hub with extensions and to stimulate local economic activities.
Strategic actions include:
- Extension of the operational area of the container terminal. • Reconstruction and establishment of a passenger terminal. • Reconstruction of port infrastructure and superstructure. • Re-routing of the world's maritime container. Far East – Europe tourist flow from the northern sailing route across the English Channel to the southern sailing boat across the Adriatic Sea. • Introduction of new renewable energy sources. • LNG terminal on the island of Krk • Partnership in EU projects. This document constitutes an annex to the Local Protocol signed by local stakeholders.
The second activity relates to the development of an Energy Oriented Scenario for the Port of Rijeka, which represents a short-term vision developed in each pilot city of the project in order to identify the following areas: increase in energy efficiency, use of RES, use of alternative fuels, building upgrades, smart solutions/integration, user behaviour/training of staff, new processes or services, further networking or operation, new ICT tools, new funding schemes, innovative planning, innovative procurement procedures, research and development, etc. Various options for the use of energy sources have been identified, in particular renewable sources for the future short term. This document is an annex to the Local Agreement signed by local stakeholders.
The third activity relates to the development of a joint PoWER Strategy aimed at identifying common strategic issues, integrated transport maps for territorial needs, which are in line with the objectives of the European Strategy of the Adriatic-Ionian Region. The strategy is a common planning instrument for the development of ports in innovation hubs, which will provide a reference framework for the future activities of the Innovation Hubs Network. The strategy is the result of a joint action aimed at exploiting the results of processes carried out at local level and identifying common strategic challenges, mainly related to blue and green growth, to be addressed once the project is completed, fostering the growth of a holistic and integrated evolutionary process. The strategy is accompanied by a protocol document signed by the members of the Network, which guarantees well-founded institutional cooperation. The objectives are to: 1. Information and Communication Technologies 2. Increased utilization of port space, infrastructure and logistics 3. Energy efficiency and environmental management system 4. Renewable energy and 5. The rest of interest.
The COVID-19 crisis prevented the closing conference in Bari to present the results of the project and the possibilities for cooperation between the ports in the project. It is expected that a final conference will be organized in the last part of the project implementation, but depending on the conditions of the implementation of the measures of the corona crisis, it is possible to organize the final conference by video communication.
