Port of Giurgiulești
The Port of Giurgiulești is a port on the Danube River and the only port in Moldova.[1] It is also a port on Prut River.[2]
Port of Giurgiulești | |
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Giurgiulesti harbour area | |
Location | |
Country | |
Location | Giurgiulești |
Coordinates | 45°28′12″N 28°12′36″E |
Details | |
Opened | October 26, 2006 |
Statistics | |
Website Giurgiuleşti Port |
It is Moldova's only port accessible to seagoing vessels, situated at km 133.8 (nautical mile 72.2) of the River Danube in the South of Moldova.[3] It operates both a grain and an oil terminal as well as a passenger terminal.[4] The building of an oil terminal started in 1996 and it was launched on October 26, 2006. Giurgiulești passenger port was officially opened on March 17, 2009, when the first sea passenger trip Giurgiulești-Istanbul-Giurgiulești was launched. The Grain Transhipment Terminal was opened on July 24, 2009. A container facility was added in 2012. As of 2015 a second grain terminal was under construction. The port has only 1,476 feet on the shore of the river with room remaining for one additional terminal. Volume shipped through the port in increased 65% in 2014.[5]
The port is managed by a Dutch firm, Danube Logistics, which, with the aid of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, has invested $60 million in the project. There are 460 employees, half from the village of Giurgiulești which is half a mile inland. As of 2015 there were no facilities in Giurgiulești which catered to travelers or visiting crewmen.[5]
It has a status of free economic zone until 2030.[6]
The Port of Giurgiulești was built as result of a 2005 territorial exchange with Ukraine, where Moldova received a 600 m-long bank of the Danube River (which is an international waterway).[7] Ukraine was supposed to receive a short section of road that leaves and re-enters Ukrainian territory near the Moldovan village of Palanca at the easternmost point of Moldova.
References
- Giurgiuleşti Archived 2014-01-02 at the Wayback Machine
- Navigaţia pe râul Prut a fost reluată Archived 2012-06-29 at the Wayback Machine
- Giurgiulesti International Free Port Archived 2014-01-02 at the Wayback Machine
- Expansion of Giurgiulesti Port in the Republic of Moldova Archived 2014-01-02 at the Wayback Machine
- Kit Gillet (2 September 2015). "Time-Worn Village in Moldova Springs Back to Life, Thanks to Port". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
So far, around $60 million has been invested in the port, which is being developed by the Dutch company Danube Logistics with support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
- "Giurgiulesti International Free Port". www.gifp.md. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- "Danube River Basin". International Waterway Governance. Retrieved June 30, 2018.)