Page 136 - Mellinato, Giulio, and Aleksander Panjek. Eds. 2022. Complex Gateways. Labour and Urban History of Maritime Port Cities: The Northern Adriaticin a Comparative Perspective. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 136
plex Gateways
In 1963, the highest governing body in Primorska, the Koper District
People’s Committee, prepared a Study on the development of the economy
in the Koper basin. In accordance with the prevailing socialist econom-
ic syntagm, the development of the port of Koper also included the in-
dustrialization of its hinterland, following the example of the highly de-
veloped European port and industrial centres, especially nearby Trieste,
with which economic connections were planned. According to the plan,
an ironworks, an oil refinery, and petrochemical plants were to be built
in the hinterland of the port of Koper, employing a total of 7,505 people.
The refinery was expected to employ 1,020 people, petrochemical plants
1,485 people, and the ironworks as many as 6,000 people. The total in-
dustrial area was expected to cover approximately 220 ha of land. The
facilities were to be built in the area along the riverbed of the relocated
Rižana, along which cargo ships would be able to navigate, for unloading
iron ore and coal for the ironworks. The main petrochemical plants were
to be built along the planned canal, which could also be used for unload-
ing raw materials, if necessary. The immediate coastal area was intend-
ed for locating tanks of various petrochemical or raw materials for the
refinery. According to the plans, the area intended for storage included
32 ha of land. The stored fuel would be distributed among three consum-
ers, namely 38% of the stored fuel would be made available for consumer
needs of the Slovenian and Croatian hinterland, 38% of the fuel would be
used for the needs of the Koper refinery, and 24% for international traf-
fic with Austria. For the supply of gas or liquid distillates from Trieste’s
refineries, the committee planned the construction of a pipeline, the so-
called ‘Pipe line Trieste-Koper’, with a length between 6 and 8 km, while
domestic raw materials would be supplied via land transport. The railway
network was supposed to be extended in order to reach the petrochem-
ical plants along the main core, which was to be connected to the inter-
national receiving of raw materials, and along the side cores, which were
planned along individual sectors. The loop connection to the main port
vessel would allow the movement of freight traffic within the port area,
or directly to the ironworks, located on the east side of the basin.9
In March 1962, a meeting of representatives of the SRS Executive
Council, the Koper District People’s Committee, and representatives of
9 PAK, 24, OLO Koper, t. e. 1787. 1, OLO Koper, ‘Študija razvoja gospodarstva v ko-
prskem bazenu, Zvezek 3, Sekundarna in finalna predelava nafte (petrolkemija)’.
Koper: Invest-Biro, 1963.
136
In 1963, the highest governing body in Primorska, the Koper District
People’s Committee, prepared a Study on the development of the economy
in the Koper basin. In accordance with the prevailing socialist econom-
ic syntagm, the development of the port of Koper also included the in-
dustrialization of its hinterland, following the example of the highly de-
veloped European port and industrial centres, especially nearby Trieste,
with which economic connections were planned. According to the plan,
an ironworks, an oil refinery, and petrochemical plants were to be built
in the hinterland of the port of Koper, employing a total of 7,505 people.
The refinery was expected to employ 1,020 people, petrochemical plants
1,485 people, and the ironworks as many as 6,000 people. The total in-
dustrial area was expected to cover approximately 220 ha of land. The
facilities were to be built in the area along the riverbed of the relocated
Rižana, along which cargo ships would be able to navigate, for unloading
iron ore and coal for the ironworks. The main petrochemical plants were
to be built along the planned canal, which could also be used for unload-
ing raw materials, if necessary. The immediate coastal area was intend-
ed for locating tanks of various petrochemical or raw materials for the
refinery. According to the plans, the area intended for storage included
32 ha of land. The stored fuel would be distributed among three consum-
ers, namely 38% of the stored fuel would be made available for consumer
needs of the Slovenian and Croatian hinterland, 38% of the fuel would be
used for the needs of the Koper refinery, and 24% for international traf-
fic with Austria. For the supply of gas or liquid distillates from Trieste’s
refineries, the committee planned the construction of a pipeline, the so-
called ‘Pipe line Trieste-Koper’, with a length between 6 and 8 km, while
domestic raw materials would be supplied via land transport. The railway
network was supposed to be extended in order to reach the petrochem-
ical plants along the main core, which was to be connected to the inter-
national receiving of raw materials, and along the side cores, which were
planned along individual sectors. The loop connection to the main port
vessel would allow the movement of freight traffic within the port area,
or directly to the ironworks, located on the east side of the basin.9
In March 1962, a meeting of representatives of the SRS Executive
Council, the Koper District People’s Committee, and representatives of
9 PAK, 24, OLO Koper, t. e. 1787. 1, OLO Koper, ‘Študija razvoja gospodarstva v ko-
prskem bazenu, Zvezek 3, Sekundarna in finalna predelava nafte (petrolkemija)’.
Koper: Invest-Biro, 1963.
136
