The Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a EUR 250 million loan to 2TDK for Divača – Koper second track project with contract signing expected to take place at the end of 2023.
The EIB loan represents 21% of the investment of the project which has a total value of EUR 1.1 billion.
The loan will finance the completion of excavation work in all tunnels along the new line, closure of the entire financial structure and completed environmental procedures, as well as guaranteed financial resources in connection with investments for the expansion of Port of Koper.
On July 14, 2TDK awarded a EUR 203.8 million contract with a consortium of SŽ-Železniško gradbeno podjeno, Kolektor IGIN, GH Holding and YM Construction for the railway and tunnel systems.
The contractors responsible for tunnel works have completed the excavation of 24 km of the main and service tunnel system. There are currently 10 underground excavation sites opened along the entire route, with 350 metres being excavated every week. The contractors have to excavate 37 km of tunnels along the entire route. Now approximately 65% of the track between Divača and Koper has been excavated.
In the Lokev (T1), Mlinarji (T7) and Škofije (T8) are the excavated tunnels of the line.
In May, 2TDK announced that the government approved the Investment Programmne Amendment (NIP2) for the project which foresees the completion of construction works by the end of 2025, and the investment value of the project in current prices is estimated at EUR 1.1 billion, which is 3.5% less, or with EUR 41 million less, than the basic Investment Programme from 2019.
It is expected that trials along the new line to be launched in the second half of 2026.
The for the Divača – Koper second track project covers the construction of 27.1 km section of which 20.5 km, representing 75% of the line’s length, will be constructed in 8 tunnels. The tunnel system will have a total length of 37 km. The project also involves the construction of two viaducts, two bridges and one gallery of 45 metres.
In 2021, the CPG consortium launched the construction works on this project. The consortium comprises Kolektor CPG (Slovenia), Yapi Merkezi Insaat and Ozaltin Insaat and is responsible for the construction of the Črni Kal – Koper section under a EUR 224.7 million contract. The section includes six tunnels and two rail viaducts in the length of 452 and 647 metres, totalling 1.3 km.
The same consortium has been also awarded a EUR 403.6 million contract for the Divača – Črni Kal section.
The project is of great importance for freight transport towards Koper port and for the increase of rail capacity. If the double-track would not be carried out, the maximum capacity that can be transported on the existing line will be constrained to 14 million tonnes, the remaining 3 million tonnes needed to be transferred to road until 2030 and 3.7 million tonnes to other ports, from where goods will be transported by rail.
With the new double track line, the total cargo volume is expected to be 20.6 million tonnes by 2030 and would be more than 27 million tonnes in 2040.
The throughput capacity will reach 212 trains each day on both existing and new track.
The port of Koper is almost the single generator of freight traffic along the Divača – Koper railway line. According to the report of Luka Koper, the Port of Koper handled 23.2 million tonnes of goods in 2022, exceeding the expectations. In December, Luka Koper surpassed two important milestones in cargo throughput. For the first time in the history of the port, throughput exceeded 1 million TEU and 800 thousand cars in one year. The company also achieved records in other commodity groups or segments.
In 2021, 42% of freight was transported by road and 58% by rail, in 2022, freight by road increased to 46%, while freight by rail decreased to 54%.
The Port of Koper and the other important northern Adriatic ports – Venice, Trieste, Ravenna, Rijeka – are important for transoceanic freight transport, especially for cargo coming from Asia via Suez. It arrives at the northern Adriatic ports about a week earlier than competing northern European ports such as Rotterdam and Antwerp. The port of Koper provides the shortest cargo travel time from Shanghai, China to Munich, Germany. Shorter sea navigation time of 5 to 6 days is the key competitive advantage of Koper over European North Sea ports.
Share on:
