The port in the Sulina Free Zone is nearing the moment when it will become fully operational, following the completion of the main infrastructure works.
The Director of the Sulina Free Zone Administration (AZL), Dragoș Ioniță, says that the port platform, the docking quay, and the access road are already completed, with the final interventions focusing on dredging and rebuilding the lighthouse in the area.
"What we set out to do has largely been completed. I'm talking about the platform, the docking quay, and the access road. There are currently additional works remaining, focusing on dredging the access mouth of the canal adjacent to the maritime basin," says Dragoș Ioniță.
According to him, the works at the maritime basin could be completed in approximately a month, if weather conditions allow for interventions on water. Meanwhile, AZL is also preparing for the rehabilitation of the lighthouse, located near the new terminal.
A new strategic point on the Black Sea
The project aims to transform Sulina into a transfer point for goods coming from the Danube and then heading to international markets with large-capacity maritime vessels.
"In this area, you will see ships stopping at our quay and port operations, loading, unloading goods," explains the AZL director.
The plan is for goods – especially cereals and agricultural products – to reach the Danube from Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine, on smaller vessels or barges, and then be transferred to Sulina on maritime cargo ships.
"The goods arrive, are loaded in these ports, on ships that can navigate the Sulina Canal and the Danube, on ships of 7,500 tons or on barges. They stop here, unload, and here they are loaded onto large-capacity vessels," says Ioniță.
The AZL director says that the logistics model would even allow for "full-to-full" type transports: maritime vessels would arrive loaded with fertilizers for agriculture, and upon departure, they would be loaded with cereals from Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine.
The huge stake: larger ships and a depth of 11 meters
One of the most important stakes for the project's development is increasing the depth of the Sulina bar to 11 meters, which would allow access to much larger maritime vessels.
AZL has already submitted a new project for dredging a part of the maritime basin to this level. Meanwhile, the Lower Danube River Administration has conducted studies and expertise for the modernization of naval access.
"If we manage to have the Sulina bar at 11 meters, the benefits will be significant, considerable," states the AZL director.
Currently, large vessels are required to navigate with reduced cargo, affecting the economic efficiency of transportation.
300 jobs and 15 million tons of goods
According to a study conducted with the support of the EBRD by international consultants specialized in port development, the new infrastructure could radically transform the local economy.
"We estimate around 300 jobs. And this is not my statement, it's a report made by experts who have provided consultancy globally for many, many ports," says Ioniță.
The estimates included in the opportunity study show that, in the next 7-10 years, up to 15 million tons of goods could transit annually through the new terminal.
The project is located near Sulina's old mineral port, built during the communist era and abandoned for decades after the collapse of industrial activities in the area. The total investment exceeds 24 million lei, according to information provided by authorities.
"We have no competition"
When asked about the main competitor of the port, the AZL director says that Sulina's positioning offers a unique advantage. "You have no competition because you are the gateway from the sea and vice versa," he asserts.
Ioniță believes that the new terminal could function complementarily with other infrastructures in the region, including the Moldovan port of Giurgiulești.
"From the port of Giurgiulești, you come on barges, unload here, and load onto larger capacity vessels here," explains the AZL director.
Recently, the National Company Maritime Ports Administration Constanta took over the operator of the Giurgiulești port, a move considered strategic for consolidating the logistics corridor between the Danube and the Black Sea.
What role could Sulina play in the reconstruction of Ukraine
Although the war in Ukraine is taking place near the Danube Delta, the AZL management says that the naval traffic in the area has not been decisively affected.
"As long as we have transit on the Danube and most ships go to Ukrainian ports, I'm not worried," says Ioniță.
Furthermore, he believes that the reconstruction of Ukraine could turn Sulina into an important transit point for materials and goods. "They will need a lot of goods as well. It will be a transit point for goods," asserts the AZL director.
What is still missing until the official opening
Currently, the administration is working on the final acceptance of the works and the necessary permits for operation. AZL has transmitted to the Ministry of Transport the new port quotas and is awaiting approval of the port regulations and operating procedures.
Upon completion of these, the procedure for leasing the lands and port infrastructure to interested economic operators can be launched.