PORT OF THESSALONIKI – MASTERPLAN PORT OF THESSALONIKI MASTERPLAN Technical University of Delft Department of Civil Engineering Section of Ports and Waterways Author: Dipl. Georgios Vanidis Supervising team: Prof. Ir. H. Ligteringen TU Delft Dr. Ir. R.J. Verhaeghe TU Delft Ing. H.J. Everts TU Delft Ir. E. Van der Reijden Royal Haskoning August 2008 Thessaloniki 1 PORT OF THESSALONIKI – MASTERPLAN Preface The present document is the final report of my Master Thesis; its title is “Port of Thessaloniki – Masterplan”. It has been conducted as the graduation project of my studies in the section of Ports and Waterways of the Civil Engineering Department of the Technical University of Delft. In order to achieve a more realistic approach, the author exploited the knowledge and the experience of engineers and managers from Royal Haskoning as well as from the Port Authority of Thessaloniki. These people provided the author with a special insight in port planning that cannot be taught inside the university. I would like to thank Prof. Ir. H. Ligteringen from the Ports and Waterways section who not only communicated a part of his knowledge and experience to me but also supported me in every step and initiative of mine and showed me with his behavior some of the basic principles that should characterize a responsible engineer. I would also like to thank Dr. Ir. R.J. Verhaeghe from the Transport and Planning section as well as Ing. H.J. Everts from the Geotechnical Engineering section. Special thanks also to Ir. E. Van der Reijden from Royal Haskoning who showed special interest in my Thesis as well as to the CEO Dr. I Tsaras and managers from the Port Authority of Thessaloniki who provided me with valuable information. Finally I would like to thank my father Iannis, my mother Tia and my sister Lina as well as all my friends who supported me during this effort. Dipl. Georgios Vanidis Thessaloniki, August 2008 2 PORT OF THESSALONIKI – MASTERPLAN Summary General The Port of Thessaloniki is the second biggest port of Greece after Piraeus. It is located in a strategic position because it can serve a large hinterland, the Balkan Peninsula, and it lies close to the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea; moreover it is quite close to the route that vessels follow from the countries of the Persian Gulf and the East to the Mediterranean and to Western Europe. The Port The Port of Thessaloniki is a multi-purpose one. It comprises of a container terminal, a conventional cargo terminal, a passenger terminal, a liquid fuels terminal and a cement terminal. The first three terminals are managed by the Thessaloniki Port Authority SA while the last two are privately owned; this report will be focusing on the three first terminals only with a short description of the other two. The total throughput of the Port in 2007 was 18,827,651tons of which 45% was liquid bulk, 24% was dry bulk and 31% was general cargo. General cargo mainly consists of containers, the throughput of which reached a value of 447,211TEUs in 2007. The passenger terminal is the weak link of the Port since only 143,051 passengers were served at its premises in 2007. Hinterland The three neighboring countries to the North are Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria while Montenegro, Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia and Romania are located more to the North. The city of Thessaloniki has the privilege to be close to several capitals like Athens (504km), Tirana (328km), Skopje (219km), Sofia (280km), Belgrade (609km) and Bucharest (608km). Commerce in this region has been lagging significantly compared to the other Western countries. The basic reasons for this delay were the several wars as well as the unstable political regimes. Moreover a turn has been observed during the last years since the political scene seems to be getting clearer. Bulgaria and Romania are the leading countries in this new era since they are the first two countries of the mentioned ones that have entered the European Union (in 2007). Although their internal financial condition may not be the ideal one (deficit in the import-export equilibrium) commerce, which is what interests the Port of Thessaloniki, has started to have an increasing trend. Hinterland Transport Networks In order the Port to take advantage of this commerce booming, adequate transport networks are mandatory. The present situation of the transport networks though is not so good. The effects of wars are obvious in several regions were the networks are destroyed and most of the parts that have not been ruined are not properly maintained. This is a major problem that requires a lot of investments and time in order to be altered. European Union is aiding these projects and has included them in the Pan – European Corridors. Some steps have been made concerning investments basically for the road infrastructure. Rail and inland waterways investments lag significantly compared to Western countries. 3 PORT OF THESSALONIKI – MASTERPLAN Infrastructure investments in Greece have been lying at a satisfactory level during the last years. Thessaloniki is one of the cities that enjoy the results of these investments since Egnatia Odos is almost finished. Egnatia Odos is modern highway with high standards that runs from the Adriatic to the Black Sea having several vertical axes linking Thessaloniki with Tirana, Skopje, Sofia and Constantinople. The rail network is not at the same level with the road network but investments have been planned in order to link the city of Thessaloniki with its major Northern commercial partners. Inland waterways are not included in the national investment agenda since the rivers around Thessaloniki are quite shallow and narrow for barge navigation. Competing Ports The Port of Thessaloniki is facing an intense competition since the Balkan Peninsula is surrounded by the Adriatic, the Aegean and the Black Sea. Competing ports are both Greek and foreign ones. The major Greek ports are Piraeus, Volos and Alexandroupolis while the foreign ones are Rijeka, Koper, Trieste, Bourgas, Varna and Constantza. At the moment, the Port of Thessaloniki is among the leaders in the market of the Balkan Peninsula offering high level services compared to many other ports in the regions while at the same time it is located in the most favorable position concerning the distance that vessels have to sail coming from the Suez Canal to the Balkans. Several ports though have ambitious masterplans which may threaten the leading position of the Port of Thessaloniki, something that renders investments in the Port imperative. Inventory of the Existing Situation The Port has been constructed according to the trends of the last century, with short and narrow basins and piers. The Port has a Free Zone including the container terminal and almost all the conventional cargo one. The internal road network is sufficient for the moment while the rail network is quite old and needs maintenance and even removal in several parts especially near the passenger terminal. The connection with the external transport networks is adequate for the moment but will require readjustment in the coming years especially the connection of the container terminal with the national road. Although the wet infrastructure is old, it serves adequately the present traffic. The basins and the turning circles are large enough for the dimensions of the present vessels while Pier 6 has been expanded forming a wide pier for the container terminal. The total length of the quays is sufficient while the depth in front of them does no require dredging at the moment. There are several storage areas especially for the conventional cargo terminal. The storage area for the container terminal though has almost reached saturation and thus requires immediate expansion. The area for the passenger terminal is quite restricted but on the other hand the number of passengers does not justify any expansion. A lot of old buildings and warehouses are observed throughout the port region which have become obsolete and thus need demolishment or at least renovation. Equipment is adequate for the moment both for the container terminal and the conventional cargo terminal. The first has four quay cranes (2 Post Panamax of 50tons each, one of 45tons and one of 40tons) and the second has 44 cranes with a lifting capacity ranging from 3 to 5 tons. The landside handling in the container terminal is conducted by straddle carriers while in the conventional cargo terminal fork lift trucks 4 PORT OF THESSALONIKI – MASTERPLAN and mobile cranes are used. The problem with the equipment is that several parts are quite old and not properly maintained while there is not a proper maintenance and renewal scheme. Trade and Traffic Forecasts Trade and traffic forecasts comprise a separate report on their own since the parameters that affect them are numerous. Moreover an effort was made to make some forecasts in order to render this report more realistic. The produced forecasts were a combination of past data extrapolation, trade and traffic trends as well as insight in the financial situation of the countries of the hinterland; sources like the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank were used for increased validity of the financial indices. The twenty eight years duration of this Masterplan was divided in three periods (2008- 2015, 2015-2025, 2025-2035) while three different growth scenarios were taken into account (low-medium-high growth scenario). This report has been based on the medium growth scenario (4.5%, 3.5% and 3% increase in the total throughput in tons for the three time periods respectively) while at the same time the final alternatives for the port layout are characterized by a certain level of flexibility in order to cope with potential deviation from the forecasted growth rates.