With the elections, the story of the underground railway in the main Croatian city has traditionally come and gone, and from various statements by experts, two things can be inferred – that the construction of the metro ‘would not be as expensive as thought’ and that banks are ‘ready to support the project’.
Regarding the financing of the project, various models have been proposed – from public-private partnerships to concessions and loans, with an emphasis on organizational changes within the City itself.
That banks are indeed interested in the project has been confirmed by them, emphasizing that if it ever comes to fruition, several banks would need to participate in this story.
-Projects of this type and size typically require joint financing from multiple banks through the so-called ‘project financing’ model. This, of course, involves the need for a detailed analysis of the project itself, its costs, as well as the cash flow it would generate, all to adapt the financing structure to the possibilities of return – said Zvonimir Akrap, a member of the Management Board of Splitska banka.
As he emphasizes, without an in-depth analysis of the project, a concrete answer cannot be given, but in principle, Splitska banka is certainly ready to co-finance projects of this type ‘that prove to be financially sustainable’.
Similar sentiments are echoed at Raiffeisen and OTP, where they express interest in, as they say, monitoring all healthy and profitable projects, but details are awaited.
Probably until the next elections.
