STA, 29 August 2022 - After receiving notable quantities of rain in the last ten days, the Slovenian coast, where water use restrictions were introduced in early July, will again be able to use water also for non-essential purposes. The supply of water from the Postojna area will end tomorrow.

Representatives of the Rižana water utility from the coast and Civil Protection held a regular weekly meeting this morning to determine that water levels after the rain in the last ten days have improved to the point where restrictions may be lifted.

"Everything has improved somewhat ... so we decided to finally start lifting all these measures that were in force in the last days," said Martin Pregelj, the head of the Rižana water utility.

"We can again use water in agriculture, we can wash the yard or the car. Utility companies can turn on showers at the beach again," he said. But he was quick to point out that there is still not enough water to waste it.

The Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration, which has organised truck transport of water from the river Unica, north of Postojna, to a water works facility near Dekani during the drought, will end this campaign tomorrow.

According to Pregelj, a solution needs to be found by next summer so as to avoid having water transported to the coast by trucks.

Water restrictions were introduced in all four coastal municipalities at the beginning of July, when the use of water for non-urgent purposes was banned and cuts for businesses introduced.

STA, 4 August 2022 - A 28-year old Dutch man appeared at Koper District Court on Thursday after charges were pressed against him for allegedly possessing components to make an explosive device at a rented house near Ilirska Bistrica in the south-west.

After the hearing, the judge ruled the suspect is to remain in custody after reasonable grounds was established for illicit production and trafficking of weapons or explosives.

The man has been in custody since 25 June as he was to be extradited to his home country on the basis of the European Arrest Warrant, but the warrant had not been put to effect by the end of July.

STA, 27 July 2022 - A campaign has started to transport drinking water to the Slovenian coast, where restrictions have been introduced due to water shortages. The water is extracted from the Unica river, north of Postojna, and taken by trucks to a water works facility near Dekani. The project was launched at about the same time as the region finally got see some rainfall.

The water is being extracted as of Tuesday morning to water trucks of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) and the firefighting service. It takes about two hours and a half for one such truck to take the water to the facility and return.

Five trucks have been secured by fire brigades, and four 10,000-litre tankers of the SAF, the authorities announced at a press conference at the site where the water is being extracted from the Unica, under the bridge in the village of Planina.

"Firefighters always want to help, even though we are looking back at a difficult week in Kras," said Franci Petek, the commander of the Firefighting Association of Slovenia, referring to the huge fire in western Slovenia that has recently been contained.

Darko But, the head of the Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration, added that the government had make it possible to hire private contractors with larger water trucks to help out in the effort.

But he noted that the extraction of the water by no means impacted the water supply for the nearby towns of Postojna and Pivka, while Martin Pregelj, the head of the the Rižana water utility noted that "it is a national project".

The measure to alleviate the water shortage in Slovenian Istria was confirmed by the government last Thursday, and will be in force until the end of August.

In the meantime, all restrictions remain in place. After the use of water for non-urgent purposes was banned and cuts for businesses was introduced, the total consumption decreased to 30,000 m3 a day, the local water utility said.

As the area has seen some rainfall in recent days, the utility has detected a slight rise in the level of the groundwater, but said it was not enough to revive the main natural spring of the Rižana river, which remains dry.

A total of 700 m3 of potable water was brought on Tuesday to the Cepki water works facility, and it has been estimated that under the current pace, the situation could be brought back to normal in ten days.

Some 20 litres of water per square metre fell on Tuesday in the nearby area of Brkini, and some of the water entered the Rižana system, while the water level in aquifers above the source of Rižana has also increased slightly.

While the main source is still dry, the Rižana flow at the downstream measuring point has increased to 115 litres per second, the water utility said, also noting that the consumption had also decreased compared to Monday figures.

STA, 12 July 2022 - After digging the first good kilometre of what will be an almost 7-kilometre tunnel on the new Divača-Koper railway track, workers have already stumbled on 21 karst caves, including some with one metre long stalactites. Railway constructor 2TDK says this will not delay the construction of what will be the longest tunnel of the track.

"Generally, in the construction of the Lokev tunnel we find a karst cave every 50 metres," 2TDK said in a press release, noting that they had not yet reached the area where most karst caves are expected.

When a cave is discovered, it is explored, measured and documented by experts from the Karst Research Institute (Inštitut za raziskovanje krasa), who then propose measures that need to be endorsed by the Nova Gorica branch of the Institute for Nature Conservation.

"Some (caves) are big enough to be accessed without climbing or any other technical gear, and the longest stalactites are one metre long. Based on geophysical measurements, we expect to find about ten large and some 100 small caves during the construction of the railway track and we'll try to preserve as many of them as possible," the company said.

The largest cave discovered so far has a six-metre long entrance and 69 metres of passages. It features stalactites and some stalagmites, and is rich in mineral deposits.

The cave discoveries have so far not affected the construction plan, but a potential discovery of a large cave could suspend the construction for a while. "Engineers are most concerned that they will stumble on a karst cave that would require the construction of a bridge," the company said.

The new railway linking the port town of Koper with the Divača railway junction is to feature seven tunnels. The first one was broken through a month ago.

Slated for completion in 2025, with the track due to open the following year, the whole railway project is valued at little below one billion euros in total, but officials have already indicated the price tag could increase by up to EUR 100 million due to rising prices.

Related: Green Karst: A Treasury of Slovenian Gems

STA, 17 June 2022 - The swimming season is kicking off at the coast with the opening of a new beach and park in Koper's Žusterna district. As part of a EUR 3.7 million investment the municipality of Koper transformed a degraded area into a beach that is now suitable for swimming and other activities.

The project began in early 2019 when rock seawalls were moved from the area and an embankment was built to protect it from flooding.

Now, lawn covers most of the park, while the rocky part of the coast is covered with large concrete plates. A walkway with benches runs through the park where around 200 trees and many bushes have been planted.

There are free toilets available and multiple food and drinks establishments.

Access to water is possible on a shingle beach.

The project was mostly funded by the municipality of Koper with the EU contributing around EUR 770,000 in grants.

STA, 13 June 2022 - The first of the seven tunnels on route of the new railway linking the port town of Koper with the Divača railway junction was broken through on Monday with officials telling the ceremony they could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

The hole-through ceremony for the Mlinarji tunnel was attended by the infrastructure ministers from Slovenia and Turkey as the track is being built by the Slovenian company Kolektor CPG in cooperation with its Turkish partners Yapi Merkezi and Özaltin.

Slated for completion in 2025, with the track due to open the following year, the project is valued at little below one billion euros in total, but officials today indicated its price tag could increase by up to EUR 100 million due to rising prices.

In his address, Slovenian Infrastructure Minister Bojan Kumer recalled the long history of the project, expressing pleasure at being able to be present at such an important milestone.

The new track, taking a completely new route to the existing railway between Koper and Divača, is to increase the maximum throughput capacity from 94 to 212 trains daily and the transport capacity from the current 14 million to 36.9 million tonnes a year.

"The distance will be cut from 44 kilometres to 27 kilometres. Travel times and the impact on the environment and local population will be reduced," Kumer said.

Minister za infrastrukturo Bojan Kumer je poudaril, da je preboj predorske cevi Mlinarji izjemno pomemben mejnik v dolgotrajnem projektu izgradnje 2. tira žel. proge Divača – Koper. Kot je dejal minister, je tokrat res primerna prispodoba, da končno »vidimo luč na koncu predora«. pic.twitter.com/ILfmGZYrjZ

— Ministrstvo za infrastrukturo (@mzi_rs) June 13, 2022

He pledged for the new government to fast-track the implementation of a double-track line, which will allow for even more traffic and let the people living along the existing railway live a safe and peaceful life.

Pavle Hevka, the CEO of 2TDK, the state-run company managing the project, said the work on the track was 43 days ahead of the schedule, and in the case of the Milinarji tunnel 10% below the budget of EUR 7 million.

Just days ago they had excavated five out of a total of 37 kilometres of tunnels. "We're still looking at many challenges and concerns ahead, from rising prices of materials to difficulties getting work permits, but I'm confident we’ll beat them off on time."

Hevka said 2TDK was facing demands for annexes to contracts due to rising prices. The proposal was for the contracting authority to cover price hikes above 10%, which would now need to be discussed by the Infrastructure Ministry.

He also announced an update of the investment plan with the rough estimate being that the cost of the project could increase by EUR 100 million. However, he also pointed to "huge savings" that had been made.

The minister said he had been assured by the Turkish contractors they had everything under control and supplies guaranteed. "It's true that prices are going up. We'll see what it means for the investment going forward."

Kumer would not talk about potential replacements at the helm of 2TDK beyond saying the state of play would be reviewed.

The ceremony also featured Alenka Bratušek, a state secretary at the ministry and a former infrastructure minister, Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoglu and representatives of the contractors.

STA, 23 February 2022 - The police dealt with 693 instances of illegal migration in the first month of 2022 alone, more than double the figure recorded in January last year. By far the largest number of illegal migrants caught last month were Afghans, which is to be expected given the situation in the country, the police said.

The Afghan nationals accounted for almost half of all the migrants caught crossing the border illegally in January.

The Koper Police Department remains the busiest in catching illegal migrants, as nearly half of all the January cases were processed there, 328, a year-on-year increase of some two-thirds.

The number of caught illegal migrants increased also in the Novo Mesto area, where 19 cases were recorded in the same month last year and 162 in January 2022. The Maribor Police Department saw the number of illegal crossings rose from 70 to 125 year-on-year.

The number of requests for international protection was also much higher. The total was more than 500, three times more than in January last year, representing a marked increase in the number of Afghan citizens seeking asylum.

The developments may indicate an expected increase in illegal migration during the rest of the year, the police said.

STA, 6 November 2021 - The Koper cathedral will inaugurate its new organ at Saturday's mass, which is to be attended by Apostolic Nuncio to Slovenia Jean-Marie Speich and President Borut Pahor. The organ, which came from the famous Tonhalle concert hall in Zurich, is the second largest in Slovenia and will sound in a concert for the first time in the country on Sunday.

The organ, a donation from Tonhalle to the Koper Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, weighs 16 tonnes and includes more than 5,500 pipes. It was designed by acclaimed French composer, organist and adviser to organ builders Jean Guillou (1930-2019).

It is the second biggest organ and the biggest church organ in Slovenia, so it is fitting that it will now adorn one of the biggest churches in the country.

After time-consuming works to set up the instrument, including the complete renovation of the choir loft, the organ will be formally handed over to the Koper church and blessed at today's mass at 5pm that will be said by Koper bishop Jurij Bizjak.

The event will feature church choirs of the Slovenian Istria. The organ will be played by Mirko Butkovič, whom the Koper Diocese named titular organist.

On Sunday, the first concert featuring the instrument in Slovenia will be held with Pier Damiano Peretti, an Italian professor of organ at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, playing the new organ.

Another six concerts will take place from mid-November until New Year as part of the organ presentation season, including a 21 November performance featuring compositions of contemporary Slovenian sacred music that have been written specifically for this instrument.

The head of the Koper Diocese organ commission Martin Šuštar believes that the organ now has an even better sound quality than in Switzerland, as some mechanical and intonation tweaks have been made.

The volume in the choir loft and throughout the rest of the church has been equalised, he said, adding that the organ was a "wonderful instrument that will play an important role in the cultural and religious spheres in the coming years".

The EUR 650,000 renovation project involved a donation campaign that will continue into 2022.

Tonhalle decommissioned the organ after less than three decades because the old organs, built by the firm Kleuker-Steinmeyer, had never quite fulfilled the expectations of the venue that prides itself on being acoustically one of the best halls in the world.

Instead of simply throwing the old organ away, they decided to donate it, and the Koper cathedral was then picked from six applicants across Europe to get the instrument.

STA, 19 August 2021 - The SeaDream II, a luxury yacht-style cruise ship, will dock in Koper on Friday, the first cruise ship to visit Slovenia's largest coastal city since 2019. The Sea Dream will bring around 50 [ed. even without COVID, it can only carry a maximum of 112 guests] passengers to Koper, mostly from the US and England.

The Sea Dream will arrive in the morning and stay in the city until 10pm, and then sail on to Venice. Named the best ship in the luxury cruise ship category in 2015, it will return to Koper on 2 September, according to the Koper Institute for Youth, Culture and Tourism.

Another cruise ship named Mein Schiff is currently scheduled to arrive in Koper at the end of September, and several other cruise ships arrivals are scheduled for October.

In Koper, more than 50 cruise ship arrivals were originally scheduled for this year, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the cruise operators kept cancelling them.

The Municipality of Koper and the Tourism Institute remain optimistic. They hope that the scheduled arrivals will help revive tourism in the city.

A total of 26 more ships with 37,000 passengers on board are expected in Koper until the end of this season, compared to the originally announced 88 ships and 130,000 passengers, the Port of Koper explained to STA. However, the list of arrivals changes on a daily basis.

STA, 18 June 2021 - The cross-border project Crossmoby will set up a ferry service this summer again, connecting four Slovenian coastal towns - Ankaran, Koper, Izola and Piran. Last year, the service was only available at weekends, now it will run every day except Mondays. The ferry will be available for a symbolic fare between one and three euros. 

The shuttle ferry service will start on 26 June and run until 3 October, according to the project manager Heidi Olenik from the Regional Development Centre (RDC) Koper, who spoke at Friday's presentation.

She added that they will be using a boat with a capacity of 71 passengers, but due to Covid-19 prevention measures, it will be limited to a maximum of 21 people, slightly more in the event of a group. There will be 16 spaces for transporting bicycles as well.

Reservations will not be possible. In case of bad weather, the shuttle ferry will be cancelled, which will be announced on their website and social media.

The ferry service is a pilot initiative of the Crossmoby project, which is a part of the Interreg V-A Italy-Slovenia 2014-2020 programme and promotes sustainable mobility by launching intermodal passenger transport options.

According to the director of RDC Koper, Giuliano Nemarnik, the ferry will operate in the mornings and afternoons. Due to the increased frequency of trips, they have decided to introduce a symbolic fare between one and three euros.

He also admitted that they had some problems last year, as some passengers did not use the shuttle ferry as a way to get from point A to point B, but rather as a sort of a round trip.

Nemarnik expressed his wish for the ferry to continue operating after the end of the project. He estimated that the cost would not be sustainable, so they will try to reach an agreement with other Istrian municipalities regarding the funds for co-financing the ferry.

He also pointed out that in addition to the shuttle ferry, the bicycle bus (Kolobus) service is set to continue running free of charge on Fridays and weekends on the Koper - Štanjel route. A daily beach shuttle service between Brkini and Koper will also be operating in July and August.