Duisburger Hafen AG (duisport) and the northern Italian port of Trieste have intensified their collaboration. Erich Staake, duisport’s Chief Executive Officer, and Zeno D’Agostino, Presidente de porto Trieste, signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Duisburg recently.
With this agreement, the largest Italian seaport in the Adriatic Sea and duisport, Europe’s central logistics hub, are joining forces and strengthening the corridor between the two locations. Rail freight and trailer transportation between the two port cities will be expanded and logistics centres will be jointly planned and constructed. In addition to expanding the transport between Duisburg and Trieste, both partners are also looking into joint investments in the hinterland of the Trieste port for the establishment of intermodal hinterland terminals, so-called “dryports”.
With this collaboration, both ports also optimize their integration into the Chinese Silk Road initiative. Already now, around 25 freight trains travel weekly to several Chinese destinations from duisport via the northern Silk Road. The port of Trieste is connected by ship trough the maritime Silk Road from South China via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean Sea.
Therefore Staake views this cooperation as a win-win for both ports: “Trieste obtains access to the northern Silk Road through duisport, and the Port of Duisburg is connected to the maritime Silk Road via Trieste. This will lead to higher handling volumes in both ports.”
