HHLA takes majority stake in Italian terminal

The Hamburg-based German logistics company is taking a majority stake of 50.01% in the Piattaforma Logistica Trieste (PLT) terminal within the Free Port of Trieste. With this investment, HHLA is positioning itself in a growing Adriatic market that offers significant opportunities for development. This will be HHLA’s third participation in a port outside Hamburg after Odessa in Ukraine and Tallinn in Estonia.

Angela Titzrath, chairwoman of HHLA’s executive board, said: “The Adriatic region has been developing very dynamically in the past few years. As the northernmost port in the Mediterranean, Trieste is the southern gateway to Central and Eastern Europe. The investment is a strategic expansion to our existing port and intermodal network. The terminal gives us the opportunity to actively participate in and help shape new and changing cargo flows and underline our ambitions to grow internationally.”

The PLT terminal facilities span a total area of 28 hectares. The northern part of the terminal mainly handles general cargo transports and logistic services. The newly developed southern part of the terminal will start operations in the first quarter of 2021 and is designed to handle container and ro-ro traffic. The capacity of the PLT terminal will then comprise a total of approximately 300,000 TEU (standard containers), 90,000 ro-ro units and 700,000t of general cargo. There is also the option to significantly expand terminal capacity through additional adjacent areas.

The position of the Port of Trieste on the Adriatic allows for excellent development opportunities in hinterland transport, said HHLA. The PLT terminal has its own rail connection. The HHLA rail subsidiary Metrans already connects the Port of Trieste with its European intermodal network.

The deal is expected to close in January 2021.