The Blue Economy conference will take place on Friday, 9 September, at the Hilton Bonelli hotel in Rijeka, organised by Novi list (The Daily). The event will bring together representatives of European and national institutions, the business community, the transport and logistics sector, local communities, and the academic community.
The conference addresses two key development issues for Kva: the future of the Rijeka transport corridor and the potential for Croatia to become a key distribution hub in central and eastern Europe. The second issue concerns the future of the Kvarner islands, from reliable maritime connections and fleet modernisation to smart ports, accessible public services, and the conditions for year-round living.
According to the latest EU report, the Blue Economy Report, the blue economy generates over €263 billion in gross value added and employs nearly 4.9 million people. Croatia currently ranks first in Europe in terms of the share of the blue economy in gross domestic product, with a share of more than 7 per cent, while more than 150,000 people are employed in sectors related to the sea, maritime, tourism, logistics, and related industries.
The project Blue Economy is designed as a national conference platform that opens up debate on the future of Croatia's blue economy through regional events. The Novi list conference, Blue Economy Kvarner, will present the future development of the Rijeka transport corridor through two panels. Participation in the conference is possible only by invitation.
In the opening session, the guests will be addressed by Tihana Tomić, editor-in-chief of Novi list, Zrinka Raguž, state secretary at the Ministry of Regional Development and European Union Funds, and Oleg Butković, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure.
The first panel is titled 'Rijeka Transport Corridor: Can Croatia become Europe's distribution hub?'. It will be attended by Denis Vukorepa, director of the Port of Rijeka, Dario Silić, general director of Bin Istria, Marko Mišković, member of the board of the Port of Rijeka, Darko Barišić, member of the board of HŽ Infra, and Teuta Duletić, director of Lürssen Design Center Kvarner.
The development of both Rijeka container terminals, Rijeka Gateway (RGW) and Jadran Gate (EGCT), should achieve traffic of more than one million container units next year. Rijeka also has a terminal for liquefied natural gas LNG Croatia, as well as a terminal for transshipment and storage of crude oil and the Janafa oil pipeline. The terminals and the Janafa oil pipeline supply not only the Croatian market but also the wider regional markets.
