Hungary's Ministry of Transport has placed the planned intermodal rail terminal at the Italian port of Trieste under review, putting a project with roughly €150 million in planned Hungarian investment and a 2028 completion target in question.

The recently appointed government initiated the review, which covers the financial, technical and commercial feasibility of the scheme, according to Hungarian media outlet Telex. The project file has been transferred to the Ministry of Transport, which will decide on its future once the investigation concludes. A ministry representative was quoted as saying that a decision can only be expected when the review is finished.

The terminal, known as Adria Port, would give landlocked Hungary a direct rail link to one of Europe's major seaports. The site chosen for the project is the area of the former Aquila refinery, closed in the 1980s, which the plan would reconvert into an intermodal rail terminal.

Under the previous Orbán government, the target was to complete the terminal by 2028. In March, Adria Port signed a deal with Gysev Cargo to operate the future rail service between Trieste and Hungary. The new executive now wants to establish whether the project stands on sound financial and technical footing before committing to it.

Italian works continue

The review on the Hungarian side has not halted activity in Italy. Italy retains responsibility for the maritime side of the development, and quaying works continue there to prepare the site for larger vessels. The Trieste Port Authority is investing around €45 million in this initiative.

Hungary, for its part, is expected to invest around €150 million in land reconversion and terminal construction at the former refinery site — a commitment that now depends on the outcome of the ministry's review.

The split of responsibilities leaves the two sides of the project on different timelines: Italian port infrastructure works are proceeding with committed funding, while the Hungarian terminal and the Gysev Cargo rail service that depends on it await a government decision. No date for that decision has been announced.