The area will be expanded by over 14,000 square metres, according to the decree which comes a month after the Ankaran municipality and a local company conducted a plot swap that will allow construction works to proceed.

This is the first of several expansions of the port concession area planned for this year, according to the Infrastructure Ministry.

The expansion is not believed to be related to tentative plans to grant Hungary rights to a land adjacent to the port in exchange for financial participation in the expansion of the Divača-Koper rail track.

Luka Koper with another record year

Port operator Luka Koper posted EUR 206.4m in net sales revenue in 2017, which is a rise of 8% year-on-year and yet another record. The company handled a record 23.37 million tonnes of cargo, a 6% rise on the year before, the company's unaudited data show.

The rise in transshipment comes on the back of an 8% rise in container units (911,528), while the number of cars handled edged down by 1% to 741,253.

Measured in tonnes, Luka Koper's transshipment of containers increased by 10% year-on-year, while the figure for general cargo was down 10%.

Record-breaking results come despite tensions between supervisors and the Dragomir Matić-led management, which was replaced in late December.