Dry port is a concept of expanding seaport’s capacity and its services inland. At a dry port additional logistics services can be provided, services that are usually available at a seaport as well as those that are not specific to a seaport. A well-applied dry port concept can shift cargo from the road to more energy efficient modes of transport that are less harmful to the environment, reduce congestion in cities, make goods handling at seaports more efficient and make it easier for carriers to improve logistics solutions in seaport hinterlands. A dry port is an intermodal terminal that is directly connected to the seaport by road and rail and serves as a centre for transhipment of sea freight to inland destinations. In addition to their role in cargo transhipment, dry ports may also contain facilities for the storage and consolidation of goods, provide maintenance of containers and customs services. The availability of these facilities and services at a dry port frees up storage and customs space at the seaport. A dry port can speed up the flow of cargo, creating a central distribution point. Dry ports can improve the movement of imports and exports, moving long-term sorting and processing of containers inland, away from congested seaports. The aim of the research is to determine and evaluate the factors that define the need for the establishment of a dry port. The proposed model is verified on the Seaport Rijeka. It is necessary to conduct a research on the dry port implementation model on the level of the whole transport chain because different stakeholders have different priorities. The research is carried out taking into consideration a set of factors (from technical, technological, organizational, ecological, economic, information-communication, legal-regulatory and specific aspect) which influence the choice of criteria in determining the need to establish a dry port. Based on the existing and expanded set of criteria, the need for the dry port implementation is identified. This presents the basis for the development of evaluation model criteria for the establishment of the dry port. The results of this study are applicable to the process of improving the current intermodal transport and the creation of technological and organizational capabilities for its rapid development.