The company operating in the Freeport of Riga, SIA Riga Bulk Terminal, in recent years has invested several tens of millions euro in the construction of a new, modern and multi-functional bulk cargo terminal in Kundziņsala, says the Port of Riga. Following global trends in the transport and logistics sector, this multi-functional terminal, which is able to ensure the handling of various types of bulk cargo by both loading onto and unloading from ships, ensures the diversification of cargo and significantly improves the competitiveness of both the company and the entire Port of Riga in general. During the construction of the second stage of the terminal, an automated warehouse with the capacity of up to 35 thousand tons has been constructed; the unique engineering and technical solutions of this warehouse have been highly praised by professionals and awarded first place in the competition “Latvian Construction Industry’s Annual Award 2017”, nomination “Production Plant”.
Riga Bulk Terminal can work with various types of cargo in both directions, i.e., unloading and loading. The terminal ensures the handling of the most diverse types of food and non-food bulk cargo. Likewise, a special-purpose line for the handling of clay soil is installed at the site and is used for the production of aluminium in Russia. Terminal technologies enable quick and effective loading and unloading of ships of different sizes, including Panamax-type ships.
“The new terminal is modern and multi-functional: we can work with different clients and different types of cargo, which enables us to be independent of many factors. Cargo logistics experts around the world admit that these days, forecasting long-term cargo flows becomes practically impossible; therefore, the only solution to maintain competitiveness in this industry is to construct multi-functional terminals, which are able to quickly adapt to ever-changing cargo flows and client requirements,” highlights Vladislavs Jakovļevs, CEO of SIA Riga Bulk Terminal.
The warehouse design of the terminal, which received the Construction Industry’s Annual Award, was developed by the company AI Engineering; construction was carried out by Ostas Celtnieks and supervision was carried out by Būvniecības Konsultants construction supervisor Egils Morītis.
“During the design and construction of the site several crucial factors had to be taken into consideration: first, the warehouse had to be multi-functional, i.e., suitable for handling various types of cargo, for both loading onto and unloading from ships, as well as for simultaneous loading from cars and railways cars. Secondly, the high-load structure had to be constructed within a small area on a pier under highly complicated geological conditions, which required enormous work and many innovative solutions,” emphasises project supervisor Egils Morītis.
The first stage of the SIA Riga Bulk Terminal was commissioned for use in 2014 and included construction of a pier suitable for Panamax-type ships, as well as the creation of a bulk cargo handling system. The second stage stipulates the construction of two automated bulk cargo warehouses with the combined storage capacity of 60 thousand tons, as well as the commissioning of a modern cargo-handling machine for use.