The largest grain terminal on the Black Sea inaugurated in Romania

By Emea Riga
Today, the grain terminal of the Romanian company Comvex SA was inaugurated, after an investment of 56 million euros. The port operator Comvex Constanţa has completed the largest grain terminal in the Port of Constanţa, with a capacity of 200,000 tons, following an investment started in 2017 and financed by a consortium of banks formed by Raiffeisen Bank and EximBank.
The grain terminal is built in the Port of Constanța, Dana 80, on an area of approximately 60,000 sqm. The location offers various logistical advantages: the deepest berth in the Black Sea (19 m), the vicinity of the barge terminal, for river transport from the Danube border countries, direct and easy access to the railway, short distance and direct access to the A2 motorway. The storage capacity will be 200,000 tons (calculated for wheat).
The reception of cereals will be done by three different means of transport: barges – unloading rate 800 t / hour; two grapple unloaders with a capacity of 400 t / h each; wagons – unloading rate 600 t / hour; covered reception tank, will allow the simultaneous unloading of two wagons; trucks – unloading rate 1,200 t / h; four covered receiving tanks, each with a capacity of 300 t / hour, grouped in pairs of two receiving groups).
The grain will be shipped with two loaders with a rate of 1,500 t / hour each, designed to load ships with a capacity of 110,000 dwt, ships with a length of 250 m and a width of 40 m, it is shown on the company’s website.
“This terminal is likely to double the activity that Comvex has. We want to become a hub and we appreciate that we will be able to successfully at least double the financial results. The investment was about 56 million euros plus VAT and was started in 2017. It is a consortium of banks, Raiffeisen Bank and Exim Bank, which participated in financing the investment, and in terms of guarantees, with the support of Exim Bank we obtained and a guarantee of the Romanian state in terms of financial set-up. What we do in these conditions is that by converting a deep berth on the one hand and making a high speed terminal on the other hand, we managed to increase four times the operating speed of ships in the Port of Constanta, with real consequences for the efficiency of maritime transport. The working rates at which we are committed for high capacity ships in this context are 40,000 tons per day “, states Viorel Panait, general manager and chairman of the Board of Comvex SA.