EIB to finance works on Divača-Koper railway
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will finance the second rail track of the Divača-Koper. The institution plan to allocate 250 million Euros for the 27-kilometre project. The development of Divača-Koper railway is a part of the Baltic-Adriatic and the Mediterranean core TEN-T corridors and crucial to link Koper port with its hinterland.
EIB has not yet approved the final decision on financing the Divača-Koper project. The government of Slovenia is carrying out intensive negotiations with the institution and hopes for a positive result. “In the last few weeks, both the representatives of our ministry (ministry of infrastructure – rail freight), the finance ministry and other stakeholders, and of course the management of the 2TDK enterprise as the investor of the project, spent a lot of time talking to the representatives of the EIB”, Slovenia’s Minister of Infrastructure Alenka Bratušek said.
Other investors
At the end of January, Alenka Bratušek represented an investment programme of the Divača-Koper railway. According to it, the construction of the second track on the Divača-Koper line was estimated at around 1.2 billion Euros (without VAT). Slovenia is expected to allocate 522 million Euros, EIB will provide a loan of 250 million Euros while the other 250 million Euros will be invested from CEF Funds. Also, around 170 million Euros will be financed by commercial banks.
Earlier, Hungary intended to invest 200 million Euros in the project. However, it changed its plans and withdrew the project. According to Slovenian media, Hungary’s government plans to invest in the development of the Italian port of Trieste that is a competitor of Koper.
Project development
In August 2018, several contractors started preliminary works on the future route of the second rail track. Archeological excavations were launched in December 2018. The scientists should research seven locations. The excavations will be completed in September. The construction works are expected to start this year and will be completed by 2025. The second track on the Divača-Koper route will enter service in 2026.
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