CROATIA: The European Investment Bank and the government have signed a €900m loan agreement to support a €2·6bn programme to modernise around 500 km of regional railway lines and acquire rolling stock.
‘This loan will enable us to make further investments in railway infrastructure, for the purpose of renovating local lines: parts of the network that we cannot finance with the EU grants, since they are not located on the European corridors’, said Minister of the Sea, Transport & Infrastructure Oleg Butković when an agreement covering the first €400m was signed on February 2.
EIB Vice-President Teresa Czerwińska said ‘I am very happy that we can help Croatia address the twin challenges of decarbonisation and digitalisation of the transport sector. Railways are one of the safest, low-emission means of transport and we are proud to support Croatia in its ambitious plan to develop a modern railway system for the benefit of the people, businesses and the environment, in line with our common EU goals to ensure a greener and more secure future.’
