More Privatisation As Government Approves Motorway Concession

The Croatian government rubber stamped on Thursday the recommendation from the consultants charged with advising the government in the Croatian Motorway Concession process, which will see Croatia lease out the operation of its motorways for 50 years, earning them around 3 billion euros.

Banking giants Erste Group from Vienna, together with Deloitte and Wolf Theiss Rechtsanwalte from Zagreb were given the consultancy job last year and recommended the longer concession period as they say it is the only way to attract potential investors.

An international tender for the concession will be announced shortly, which will last between 12 and 14 months. The motorway concession will include 1024 kilometres of motorway including; Bregana – Zagreb – Lipovac, Zagreb – Split – Ravca, Zagreb – Rijeka, and Zagreb – Gorican.

“Not one kuna or euro will be spent on current costs, but will be used to reduce public debt,” promised Transport Minister Sinisa Hajdas Doncic, who echoed Finance Minister Slavko Linic’s statement saying that Croatia needed to privatize its motorways as debt has gotten out of control.