The Klaipėda State Seaport Authority has launched a tender to select long-term tenants for a new 100-hectare area in the southern part of the Lithuanian port. The southern port development, with total planned investment of more than EUR 1 billion, is described by the authority as the largest expansion of the port since Lithuania regained independence.
The project will create 100 hectares of new land, around 1.3 km of new quays, a 600-metre-wide turning basin, a partly deepened shipping channel and road and rail connections. These works are currently estimated at around EUR 600 million. Tenants leasing the whole area will contribute at least EUR 300 million towards that cost, with proportionate minimum contributions for bids covering only part of it. Leases will run for 50 years.
The indicative layout sets aside about 50 hectares for a container terminal with a capacity of around 1.5 million TEU at full build-out, with the remaining 50 hectares for cargo handling and wider maritime industry activities. The final split will depend on the tender outcome. Tenants must pay at least half of their initial contribution before the land is handed over and the remainder within 15 years, invest in their own buildings, cranes and equipment, and, in the case of cargo handlers, commit to minimum annual volumes that may not decrease over the lease term.
The tender runs in stages: qualification on technical capacity, experience and financial strength, followed by a dialogue on technical, financial and legal terms and then final offers. Every selected bidder must pass a national security assessment before a lease is signed. “This is the largest expansion of the Port of Klaipėda in the history of independent Lithuania,” said Minister of Transport and Communications Juras Taminskas, adding that it would also “improve security across the region”. Algis Latakas, Director General of the Port Authority, said the authority was looking “for partners who will join us from the very beginning”.
The project is on the Lithuanian government’s list of strategic projects and is backed by a dedicated law passed by the Seimas this summer; the tenant selection procedure was approved in September. Construction is moving ahead: contractor Tilsta has set up its site for the new southern port gates under a EUR 24.5 million contract (excluding VAT), structures that will also keep saltwater out of the Curonian Lagoon. For the Baltic energy sector, quay space and heavy-lift capacity at Klaipėda matter as Lithuania prepares its offshore wind build-out and the region looks for staging and logistics capacity.
