Adriatic Gate Container Terminal (AGCT), ICTSI's operation at Croatia's Port of Rijeka, has handled its four millionth TEU since the Philippine operator took over in 2011 — and it took just five years to move from two million to four million, doubling cumulative throughput at a pace that underlines the terminal's growing role as an Adriatic gateway for Central and Southeast European cargo.

The milestone lands in AGCT's 15th year under ICTSI ownership. Much of the terminal's volume does not stay in Croatia: rail and road corridors carry boxes inland to Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia, positioning Rijeka as a competitive alternative to North Sea and Mediterranean routings for shippers moving freight into those hinterland markets.

"Over the past 15 years, AGCT has become an increasingly important link between global shipping networks and inland markets across Central and Southeast Europe," said Hans-Ole Madsen, ICTSI senior vice president and EMEA regional head.

For carriers, the draw is vessel size. AGCT has expanded capacity since 2011 to accommodate larger ships, and a €35m (US$40m) investment programme completed in late 2025 added two super post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes supplied by ZPMC. The STS units allow the terminal to work the largest container vessels currently calling at Adriatic ports — a capability that widens the pool of services Rijeka can realistically bid for.

"Continued investment in infrastructure, equipment and intermodal connectivity has strengthened Rijeka's position within regional supply chains and improved access to international trade for customers throughout the terminal's hinterland," Madsen added.

The same programme delivered two hybrid rubber-tired gantry cranes, also from ZPMC, boosting yard capacity while cutting fuel consumption. The equipment push runs alongside a broader electrification drive: AGCT is replacing diesel terminal tractors with electric units and converting existing RTGs to hybrid operation.

That fleet transition has a Chinese flavour. Earlier this year, AGCT put into operation two fully electric terminal tractors built by BYD. The terminal said the deployment followed a year of close cooperation with the manufacturer, during which one newly developed unit was tested on site — feedback loops that let AGCT adapt the tractors to real operating conditions before they entered service.

The strategy carries commercial logic beyond emissions targets. Hybrid gantries and electric tractors reduce exposure to diesel price volatility in yard operations, while the intermodal connections Madsen highlights are what convert Adriatic port calls into genuine hinterland competition against established Northern European and Mediterranean gateways. For forwarders routing cargo into Hungary, Serbia or Austria, each incremental capacity and equipment upgrade at Rijeka broadens the menu of viable port pairs.

"Reaching four million TEUs as we mark 15 years with ICTSI reflects the progress AGCT has achieved," said Iñigo Nuñez Mendibe, AGCT chief executive officer.

The doubling of throughput in five years is the headline metric, but the trajectory matters more for shippers weighing Rijeka in network designs. With super post-Panamax cranes in place, a hybridised yard fleet growing, and electric tractors already working the quay, AGCT enters its next five years with the equipment base to keep chasing larger vessels and deeper hinterland penetration.