Vienna-based construction company Strabag announce that construction of a port in Croatia will be completed in 2013. The new port is located in Gazenica in the Dalmatian city of Zadar. Construction work began in May 2009. The overall cost of the construction is estimated at EUR 234 million.  The project has received major backing from the German KfW banking group and the European Investment Bank.  When completed, the port will be the second largest after the port in Split.

Zadar lies on a flat, low elevation region, some distance from higher terrain of the Dinaric Alps. As a result, unlike many other coastal Croatian cities, effects of the ‘bora’ winds are very weak in the local area. The commercial port, Luka Gazenica, is located on the coast about 2.5 nm SE of Zadar. The port has a wide entrance of about 215 m, open to the west. The north-eastern portion of the harbour has depths of 7.5 m in the northern half and 5.9 m in the southern half. Depths along the general cargo pier vary from 10 m dropping off to 13 m near the end of the pier. On the southern side of the general cargo pier is another docking area used for off-loading bulk cargo and grain. Dangerous cargo is off-loaded on the extreme southernmost pier.