STA, 5 February 2019 - A subsidiary of the Slovenian national railways operator Slovenske Železnice has won the tender to build a new container terminal in the Croatian seaport of Rijeka, a decision that is yet to be made final as a rival bidder from Croatia has filed an appeal.

The new terminal is planned to increase the port's capacity by eliminating a bottleneck and adjust the port's railway infrastructure to the railway station in Rijeka.

The project will be co-funded in a 85% share by the European Commission as part of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).

The selection of the bid filed by the engineering company SŽ - Železniško Gradbeno Podjetje Ljubljana, estimated at EUR 28.5m, is being challenged by Croatia's DIV Grupa, which had submitted the lowest bid (EUR 24.6m).

The contracting authorities, the Rijeka port administration and the infrastructure arm of the Croatian national railways operator Hrvatske Željeznice, said that the bid by DIV Grupa was "unrealistically low".

Several other international and Croatian bidders participated in the tender, including Slovenia's Kolektor Koling, which valued its bid at EUR 29.3m.

All our stories related to Croatia can be found here

STA, 19 November - Infrastructure Minister Alenka Bratušek appears unperturbed that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban decided to withdraw from the Koper-Divača rail project. She said on Monday that Hungary was interested in the project to get a piece of the Slovenian coast and that that would never have happened.

Bratušek said on Saturday, when the news about Orban's decision broke, that she had wanted to propose to the government to implement the major infrastructure project on its own anyway, but that she had been waiting for certain figures.

Speaking to the press today, the minister said that she had known for at least a month that the project would have a lower price tag without Hungary's involvement, but at the moment she was still uncertain by how much.

Under the previous government's plans, Hungary would invest EUR 200m in the EUR 1bn project seen as vital for the development of Slovenia's sole maritime port in Koper, but Bratušek has calculated since taking over as the minister that the project would be cheaper if Slovenia went at it alone.

"Hungary was promised certain returns as well as 50,000 square metres of land in long-term lease," she said today and added that "personally, I would have never proposed to the government to back Hungary's involvement under the conditions it had set".

The law governing the management of the rail project was adopted some time ago and has survived two referendums, but there are still several open issues. "The investment plan has not been hammered out to the point where the government could discuss it," Bratušek said.

Bratušek: Hungary focused on the Slovenian Sea

The minister believes that Hungary would have set additional terms for its collaboration: "Hungary is more interested in the Slovenian sea, a gateway into the world, than in the Divača-Koper project."

According to her, Orban explained his decision by saying that Hungary would get a bigger stake, potentially even a majority stake, in the port of Trieste. However, Bratušek would not allow "a single centimetre of the port of Koper to end in foreign hands" as long as she is minister.

"If this is the reason that [Hungary] will not be involved, then be it," she added and reiterated that Slovenia was able to build the second rail track connecting the Koper port and the inland hub in Divača on its own.

All of our stories about Slovenia and Hungary can be found here

STA, 7 November 2018 - The 1870 railway track between Ljubljana and the north-western town of Jesenice is to be revamped in the coming years, as part of a move to modernise the Slovenian railway network. The upgrade, estimated at EUR 378m-414m, will seek to increase the track's capacity and top speeds as well as enhance safety.

According to the plan, which was listed among the 2018-2021 development projects by the government on Tuesday, the upgrade will eliminate choke points, increase the capacity to allow for the expected increase in cargo transport, increase top speeds, and improve safety on the section.

Additionally, the upgrade will reduce noise levels, improve interoperability, and secure better coordination with road traffic in rush hours.

The project, estimated to be completed by 2025, will be implemented in several stages, depending on financing options and environmental and other matters pertaining to zoning plans.

The first stage involves drawing up blueprints and is valued at EUR 22.2m to be financed from the budget. For the project as a whole, financing options include EU funding and raising debt.

However, EU funds are above all available for projects on the core railway network at this time, which the Ljubljana-Jesenice section is not. On the other hand, the section is part of the TEN-T railway network.

The section, which connects Slovenia to Austria's Villach and further on to Munich in Germany, was built in 1870, with the most recent upgrades implemented 30 or more years ago.

STA, 23 August 2018 - The emerging coalition is determined to proceed with the plans to build the second rail track between Koper and Divača, a major infrastructure project worth around EUR 1bn. It would also like to modernise roads and railways, and gradually redirect cargo transport from roads to railways. 

Trieste can be yours once again. 

STA, 13 May 2018 - Voters upheld the law governing the financing of the railway upgrade between the Koper port and the inland hub Divača in the repeat referendum on Sunday. The government will try to immediately kick-start the project, but the initiator of the referendum plans to appeal the result yet again in order to delay the law until after the election. 

Tickets will be around 9 euros. 

Project will also involve Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia.