Croatia braces for economic hit after first COVID-19 case confirmed

02:12

After the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the capital Zagreb, Croatia is bracing not only for the spread of the epidemic but also for its impact on the country's economy.

Croatia's biggest port Rijeka is heavily dependent on goods from China and its managers are expressing concern about the impact on their operations.

Now companies such as China's COSCO – a shipping firm that also handles port operations – are concerned the coronavirus outbreak could severely impact their plans. Marko Škraljsky, from COSCO's Croatian branch, told us: "So, now it is very hard to say, but for sure there will be some decrease in the container business. Some important consultants' companies are talking about numbers that are a few millions of containers less than usual."

A health worker takes notes at the infectious disease clinic in Zagreb, Croatia, where the first coronavirus case in Croatia has been confirmed. /AP/Darko Bandic

The number of containers arriving from China at the terminal has already decreased, but that was attributed to an annual slowdown that happens during the Chinese New Year holidays.

Emmanuel Papagiannakis, the CEO of AGCT, the primary concessioner of the Rijeka container terminal, expressed confidence that China will be able to contain the epidemic.

"I'm quite confident in the measures that the Chinese government has put in place. I'm confident that the Chinese government is going to contain the virus. It is doing a very good job, so hopefully we will see a rebound come in the middle of the year," he said.

Since COSCO arrrived, the container terminal in the Port of Rijeka has had a 20 percent increase in its turnover volume. Now, a new part of the terminal is under construction, which is designed to increase the speed of loading of containers on to rail wagons. This should make the Rijeka port more competitive in central European markets. And the operators hope COVID-19 will just be a temporary blip in their expanding business.

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