Plastic recycling startup Xycle has secured funding to build its first commercial plant in the Port of Rotterdam. The funding comes from a consortium of investors including Dow, ING, Invest-NL, Vopak and lender Polestar Capital. The plant is scheduled to open by the end of 2026 and will be able to process 21,000 tonnes of plastic waste annually, turning it into feedstock for new products.
Italy is preparing to significantly boost its Ferrobonus programme, increasing funding by €60 million in 2025-2026. The current plan is to allocate €22 million annually until 2026, but the government plans to add another €30 million for each of the following two years. The measure is aimed at supporting rail freight transport, in line with its strategy to reduce harmful emissions and eco-modernise the transport sector.
The Coordination Council for the Development of Competition in Ports has begun its work under the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine. Its main goal is to create equal conditions for business, improve regulatory mechanisms and establish a dialogue between the state and the port industry. An important aspect will be the introduction of transparent rules for the use of port infrastructure, including land use issues that remain unresolved.
At the beginning of 2025, the transport and warehousing sector in Kazakhstan demonstrates steady growth. The index of physical volume of services (IPV) increased by 21.3% compared to the same period last year. The volume of freight traffic reached 178 million tons (+18.8%), and freight turnover increased by 15.4%, amounting to 89.8 billion ton-km. There is also an increase in passenger traffic: the number of passengers transported increased by 13% (to 289.2 million people), and passenger turnover reached 13.7 billion p-km (+17.2%).
The Freeport of Riga Council has approved an investment plan for 2025, according to which EUR 7.43 million will be invested in the development of the port, which is 17% more than last year. The funds will be used to modernize the port infrastructure, digitalize and implement strategically important projects. As noted by the Chairman of the Council Sandis Steins, the port is actively working on creating modern logistics and production areas, attracting investors, but the current infrastructure needs to be modernized to meet the requirements of large projects.
Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan Marat Karabayev held a meeting with RHENUS representative Heinrich Kerstgens, at which the parties discussed the prospects for new Kazakh-German projects in logistics. The focus was on the modernization of warehouse infrastructure and the expansion of multimodal transportation to increase the country’s transit potential.
ASCO Chairman of the Board Rauf Veliyev held a meeting with the delegation of Uzbekistan, headed by the Director of the Center for the Study of Transport and Logistics Development under the Ministry of Transport Bekzod Kholmatov. During the visit, representatives of the Ministry of Transport and Uzbekistan Railways received detailed information on key transport and logistics initiatives of Azerbaijan and the activities of ASCO.
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn faces a major funding shortfall for the modernization and expansion of its network in the coming decade. According to documents for the company’s Supervisory Board, around €80 billion will be needed by 2034 to upgrade existing infrastructure, rebuild key transport corridors and digitalize. However, if new construction and accelerated digitalization are taken into account, the costs could rise to €150 billion.
According to the results of 2024, the cargo turnover of Georgian ports reached 15.5 million tons, which is 5.8% more than in 2023. The total number of vessel calls was 1,683 units. Of these, 38.5% were general cargo carriers, 30.1% were liquid bulk carriers, 22.5% were container ships, and the remaining 8.9% included dry cargo ships, tugs and specialized vessels.
The Port of Rotterdam Authority has presented its annual report for 2024, entitled “Navigating to a sustainable future”. Despite geopolitical and economic challenges, the port has demonstrated stability and continued to develop actively. Total investments increased by 11% to €320.6 million. The funds are directed not only towards modernizing the infrastructure, but also towards projects to strengthen social and environmental sustainability.
