The Influence of Dry Port Establishment on Regional Development Through Regional Development Index

Abstract

The goal of the Regional Development Policy of the Republic of Croatia is to contribute to the identification of priority activities that would strengthen the development potential of all Croatian regions, reduce regional disparities, strengthen and build the development potential of less developed parts of the country. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the effect of establishment of a new dry port on regional development through increased development index. Details of regional development index calculation are presented in the paper, and an example of the calculation containing the actual data for the regions/counties of the Republic of Croatia is given. A simulation of regional development index calculation in case of establishment of a new dry port was run and presented. The simulation of development index increase as a result of dry port establishment in the town of Vinkovci in the Vukovar-Srijem County was conducted. Vinkovci was chosen primarily owing to its favourable geographic position in the TEN-T network connecting Croatia with various destinations through the Orient East-Med Corridor or Rhine-Danube Corridor, existing infrastructure that can be used for new dry port terminal, and the fact that Vukovar-Srijem is one of the most undeveloped regions (counties) in Croatia. The results have shown that the regional development index would increase in the region/ county of dry port establishment. The contribution of this research is that the paper proves the influence of dry port establishment on regional development, with emphasis on the number of newly employed persons and the effect thereof on regional development index indicators.