DP World announced the starting of construction of a new multimodal terminal connecting Romania’s industrial heartland to European and Asian trade hubs.
According to a statement released by DP World, the Aiud Intermodal Terminal located in the region of Transylvania will boast a static storage capacity of 3,000 TEU and is expected to become operational in the first half of next year.
“The terminal will perform a key role in expanding the country’s global trade and benefitting local businesses with smooth connections to consumers across the region and across the world,” the company said in its statement.
Through its on-site connection to the electrified rail infrastructure, the terminal will also help reduce CO2 emissions and transportation costs through the shift from road to rail.
The inland terminal and logistics hub is being built in Decea, near the city of Aiud in the northeast of Romania, an industrial heartland where 50 per cent of the country’s GDP is sourced.
As regions in Northern Romania have become vital industrial and trade hubs for the country, the new multimodal terminal will function as gateway to strengthen connections with the rest of the country.
At the same time, Aiud terminal is set to secure a fast direct link from Europe to major hubs in Central Asia and China, enabling Romania to become a commercial hub for European trade eastward and effectively expanding the country’s role in global trade.
DP World noted in a LinkedIn post that with the new terminal’s construction, the company will “further deepen its end-to-end offering in the country and help connect Romanian manufacturers to their customers.”
More importantly, the company firmly believes that the terminal infrastructure will improve rail connectivity between Romania and other European hubs.
“The logistics terminal links Northern Romania, which has traditionally lacked robust infrastructure, with the rest of the country. Moreover, it brings the region closer to the Black Sea, the North Sea, and the Adriatic Sea using green electrified rail,” it said.
Romanian terminals like in Arad or Oradea are essential for traffic to and from Central and Western Europe. However, the specific region where Aiud locates was some sort of a missing link. Even companies using the Middle Corridor route via Romania faced hurdles with rail transport since the connections and infrastructure between Constanta and the border were insufficient. Maybe such a terminal will make the difference in this sense.
Speaking of the Middle Corridor, DP World stressed that the terminal also “sits directly on the train line linking Europe to China via Central Asia.” Interestingly enough, DP World owns a terminal at the port of Constanta, making it understandable why it sees an opportunity for more investments and connectivity.
“The benefits offered to the import and export supply chains will have a significant and positive impact across the country with the terminal offering efficient, robust and reliable trade routes across borders,” said Cosmin Carstea, CEO of DP World Romania.
“The vast number of businesses in the area will now have a logistics hub within easy reach that will then enable the flow of trade across the globe.”
In the first three months of 2022, DP World handled a total of 19.3 million TEU across its global portfolio of container terminals.
The sum represents a 1.7 per cent increase in the company’s container volumes on a reported basis and a 1.9 per cent rise on a like-for-like basis.