The initial conference for the project "Rehabilitation and extension of the existing dock in the Unije port - II phase" Was held on Friday, 16 July. The extension of the breakwater head and its widening in a 'T' shape will permit the mooring of regular liner ships in the port of Unije.
On Friday, the Aurora Hotel in Mali Lošinj hosted the initial conference for the project “Rehabilitation and extension of the existing dock in the Unije port – II phase”. The project was introduced to the interested public by the Director of CPA Mali Lošinj Filip Balija, deputy Prefect of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Vojko Braut, Director of the Sector for implementation, monitoring and coordination of island development policy Ivan Bota, representing the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, and the representative of the contractor Pomgrad Engineering Ltd. Dobroslav Šestanović.
Rehabilitation and extension of the existing dock in the Unije port, worth just under €5 million, is a port infrastructure improvement project implemented by the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure with the objective of improved island connectivity. It involves the extension of the breakwater head and its widening by 30 m on either side in a ‘T’ shape to allow, in the words of CPA Mali Lošinj Director “the mooring of ferries, catamaran, and also yachts.” The construction work should be completed by June 2022.
The existing breakwater has a modest mooring capacity of 2 smaller vessels – inadequate to provide a secure link with Mali Lošinj, Cres, Rijeka, Pula and Zadar, which the development of Unije hinges on.
The closing word of the conference fell to the deputy Prefect of Primorje-Gorski kotar County, Vojko Braut. “It is a fact that our port authorities have managed to eke out close to €30 million in non-refundable grants, to fund five projects currently in implementation. Likewise, I would like to congratulate Director Filip Balija, and also the President of the Board of Directors without whose commitment all this would not be possible“, the deputy said, referencing other port projects financed using the same model.
In the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County the projects to upgrade the ports of Crikvenica, Cres, Baška and Mrtvaška are being implemented. Just like the rehabilitation and extension of the dock in the Unije port, these projects are financed within the Operational Programme “Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020”, with €29.65 of non-refundable grants. The sources of financing are the Cohesion Fund, with a share of 85%, and the State Budget, with a share of 15%.