SLOVENIA LOOKS TO REJUVENATE ITS TRANSPORT

UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000144

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR EUR/NCE, EUR/ERA, EB, OES
USDOC FOR 4232/ITA/MAC/EUR/OEERIS/SAVICH

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD SI
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA LOOKS TO REJUVENATE ITS TRANSPORT
INFRASTRUCTURE; COM MEETS NEW SLOVENIAN TRANSPORT MINISTER


1. Summary: In a February 24 courtesy call, new Slovene
Minister of Transport, Janez Bozic, highlighted for COM his
goals for revitalizing Slovenia's transportation
infrastructure in all four sectors of his portfolio: roads,
railways, sea transport, and aviation. Railway development
is Bozic's top priority, with EUR 100 million in investment
planned by 2007, half of that EU funds. COM raised the long-
delayed installation of radiation detection portals at the
Port of Koper with the Minister. Bozic and his team were
enthusiastic and made a very positive first impression. End
Summary.


2. COM, accompanied by DCM, Pol/Econ Chief and FSN
Econ/Commercial Specialist, called on the new Slovenian
Minsiter of Transport, Janez Bozic (pronounced Bozhich),
February 24. Bozic was joined in the hour-long meeting by
his State Secretary Peter Verlic and Chief of Staff Gordana
Grahek. Bozic spoke quickly and mostly in Slovene
throughout the meeting. He showed a complete command of his
portfolio, probably because his previous position prior to
joining the Government as the head of DARS, the public
company that runs Slovenia's highway network, prepared him
well for his new challenge at Transport.

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ROADS
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3. Bozic emphasized that the road sector is the most
developed of the transportation sectors in Slovenia and the
highway "cross" of the 5th and 10th Pan-European corridors
is almost finished. He called the condition of the 750
kilometers of highway in Slovenia "excellent," but indicated
that much more attention must be paid to the 6,000
kilometers of national (secondary) roads, which are in
poorer condition. Bozic said that not only rehabilitation,
but also construction of new roads, bypasses and rings is
necessary around Slovenia's more busy, industrial cities
such as Maribor, Celje and Jesenice.


4. Since 1995, Slovenia has invested nearly EUR 3 billion
in highway infrastructure. According to the minister, one
half of that amount was acquired through loans from several
sources, including the European Investment Bank. These
loans are being repaid with tolls collected throughout the
highway system. The Ministry estimates an investment of
approximately EUR 1 billion is needed in the national road
system over the next 6-8 years.

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RAILWAYS
--------------


5. According to Bozic, much greater emphasis will be given
to the development of the railroad system in Slovenia in the
coming years. Estimates suggest EUR 1 billion in
expenditures will be necessary for upgrades and
improvements. The Ministry's aim is to ensure greater
transportation capacity to and from the Port of Koper via
railroad, which is considered an environmentally cleaner
alternative to road transportation. Despite the interest of
neighboring countries and France, the Minister believes a
high-speed railway is not a realistic plan for Slovenia, as
cost estimates go beyond EUR 5 billion. (NOTE: Bozic's
deputy, State Secretary Verlic, came to the Ministry from
Slovenia's national railway. END NOTE.)

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SEA TRANSPORT
--------------


6. Bozic described Slovenia's interest in the facilitation
of "seaway motorways." He is keen on the idea of clustering
the Adriatic ports (Koper, Trieste, Rijeka, Ancona) and
adopting a uniform and compatible system among them. As he
sees it, this would create a counterweight to the
economically powerful North Sea ports and increase the
region's competitiveness. According to Bozic, a uniform
port system would create "seaway motorways," which would
ultimately increase trade in the Adriatic region. The GoS
is also a majority owner of the Port of Koper, hence the
strategic vision of the Ministry of Transportation will
directly impact the development of the Port.


7. COM mentioned to the minister the agreement currently
being worked out between the GoS and USG, which would place
radiation detection monitors in the Port of Koper as part of
an anti-terrorism program. The minister was not aware of
this project, but thanked the COM for the information.
(NOTE: Once an implementing is hammered out between the US


Department of Energy and the Slovene Ministry of Finance,
these portals will go into the Port of Koper and at least
one major land crossing. Negotiations are set to continue
in Ljubljana in mid-March. END NOTE.)

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AVIATION
--------------


8. Concerning the fourth sector of the Ministry's
activities, aviation, Bozic is most interested in achieving
the ratification by Parliament of an agreement signed with
the Committee for European Airspace Coordination (CEAC).
Under this project, Slovenia would become part of
EUROCONTROL, a Europe-wide unified military and civil
airspace control organization. The Minister asked COM for
his help in pushing this issue in Slovenia through NATO
channels, as Bozic believes work needs to be done to
convince the National Assembly of the positive implications
of this organization. The Ministry will also focus on the
importance of developing the largest three civilian and
military airports: Brnik, Maribor and Cerklje as part of the
country's development agenda.

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PRIVATE-PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS (PPP)
--------------


9. COM commented on the positive experience of PPPs and
the possible implications they may have in the development
of infrastructure. COM also applied this to the case of
Port of Koper, since much has been heard lately about the
construction of its third pier. In his reply, Bozic
emphasized two main challenges he saw with implementing PPPs
in Slovenia. The first was lack of legislation to regulate
this sort of development in Slovenia. The second, according
to Bozic, was the lack of positive experiences with PPPs in
Slovenia. He believes Slovenia is not yet ready for this
type of endeavor, however, due to budgetary constraints, he
conceded that it is necessary to consider all possibilities
for financing the development of infrastructure.

ROBERTSON


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2005LJUBLJ00144 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED



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