The construction of the second track, 42 kilometers long, between Ivanić Grad and Kutina is the largest project in Croatia selected by the Commission for the allocation of EU grants from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the European Commission announced on Thursday.
The Commission announced on Thursday that it has selected 107 transport infrastructure projects that will receive more than 6 billion euros in EU grants from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the EU’s instrument for strategic investments in transport infrastructure.
More than 80 percent of the funds will be allocated to projects that ensure a more efficient, greener, and smarter network of railways, inland waterways, and maritime routes along the trans-European transport network (TEN-T).
Among these projects, three are in Croatia. The largest amount of over 245 million euros is allocated for the construction of a double-track railway from Ivanić Grad to Kutina on the Dugo Selo-Novska section.
The second project is the financing of the completion of the conceptual design documentation and obtaining a location permit for the construction of a new double-track electrified railway on the Skradnik – Krasica – Tijani section, 72 kilometers long, on the lowland railway from Karlovac to Rijeka. For this, 4,930,000 euros is allocated.
The third project concerns the construction and reconstruction of the southern shore of the Port of Osijek, for which just under one and a half million euros (1,489,811) is allocated.
Among the 107 selected projects, Croatia participates in several of them together with other member states.
The largest among them, worth over 71 million euros and involving 25 member states, relates to air traffic and is expected to help reduce congestion at airports, decrease flight delays, unnecessary carbon dioxide emissions, and noise, and assist in developing a concept that should enable more direct routes between European destinations, significantly shortening flight times and greenhouse gas emissions.
The second project, worth just over 18 million euros and involving 12 members, relates to the initiative for the development of a river information service, which should contribute to improving cross-border navigation on five inland waterways that are part of European transport corridors: Rhine-Alps, North Sea-Mediterranean, East-West Mediterranean, Rhine-Danube, and North Sea-Baltic.
The third project, cross-border cooperation in Central Europe involving Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, and Slovenia, relates to cooperation in implementing the directive on intelligent transport systems to promote smart mobility.
The project is expected to contribute to enhancing efficiency, interoperability, and safety in road transport, with just over 32 million euros allocated for it.
The fourth project, in which Croatia participates along with five other member states, relates to improving the interoperability and resilience of air traffic, with just over 34 million euros allocated for it.
CEF is the EU’s financial instrument established for additional investments in the construction of new and the improvement of existing transport, energy, and telecommunications infrastructure, from which member states can finance projects on nine corridors of the Core Network of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), in addition to existing structural and Cohesion Fund resources.
Its aim is to assist in creating interconnected networks across Europe that are high-performing and environmentally sustainable, contributing to economic growth, social and territorial cohesion within the European Union.
