Minister expects regional players to be involved in Koper-Divača track

The minister's comments on Thursday come after 2TDK, the state-run company managing the project, has decided to enter negotiations with ten of the 15 bidders that responded to an international call to tender for the main construction work, including several Chinese and Turkish companies, aside from builders from Slovenia, Italy, Austria and Switzerland.

Appearing at an AmCham business breakfast, Vrtovec announced a stepping-up of activities for the project, known as the second track. He believes the main construction work needs to begin next year, which is in line with 2TDK's plans, and he expects 2TDK to stick to the timetable.

However, he also argued for the need to respect EU guidelines, adopted to manage the risk of social dumping with bidders from third countries. The guidelines have been transposed into Slovenian legislation through a new law designed to kick...