“I’m delighted to announce that the government took an important step towards the construction of the second railway track between Koper and Divača,” Infrastructure Minister Peter Gašperšič said at a press conference after today’s government session, thereby confirming that the government has established a special-purpose entity to manage the project.

The special-purpose entity, called 2TDK (Drugi tir Divača-Koper), will be set up in two stages. Initially, the SPE will be 100 percent government-owned. Next, it will be recapitalized by private investors and other countries. According to Gašperšič, the SPE will then construct the railway track, whereupon it will be granted a 30-year concession to manage the track.

Investors showing keen interest
During the first stage, 2TDK’s job will be to complete the necessary paperwork to begin construction, to secure EU funding and to raise money from private investors. Gašperšič confirmed that a number of countries along the Adriatic-Baltic corridor have expressed interest in the project. The project will also be attractive to private investors. The first stage of the project will start in April. According to Gašperšič, the second stage is expected to commence in mid-2017. During the second stage, the government will provide a capital injection of 200 million – private investors and other countries will have to match or surpass that amount. Private investors will thus hold a majority stake in the venture, whose headquarters will be based in Ljubljana.

Other forms of cooperation are also an option. Gašperšič said that port operator Luka Koper and rail operator Slovenske železnice could become partners in the project.

G. K.; translated by D. V.