An agreement is expected to be reached by 15 July, and the terminal concluded in two years.

According to the paper, the most serious investors are the South Africa-based funds NEPI and Prime Capital.

Mes said that the South African funds were interested in Slovenia because they had enough capital. "I expect that an agreement will be reached between all stakeholders...by 15 July."

Asked whether Trigranit would stay in Ljubljana, he said that the developer would have to meet some of its obligations, referring to the dispute between Trigranit and Slovenske železnice over the termination of the contract.

Trigranit had unsuccessfully applied for EUR 25m state aid for the planned central train and bus terminal, estimated at EUR 320m. It then filed two years ago a request for the termination of the contract at a court of arbitration in Vienna.

The developer and Slovenske železnice withdrew from the contract, while the railway operator filed a EUR 72m damages suit against Trigranit. The court rejected the request and ruled in favour of the railway operator.

"We don't want to make a grandiose project out of it, but a project that would be adapted to Ljubljana as much as possible. We don't want to demolish much. The railway and bus station will be connected - at the same ground level," Matić told Finance.

If an agreement with a potential investor is reached in July, the terminal could be built in two years. "We would start building at the end of the year and end at the end of 2018."

According to Mes, the downsized project, which envisages among other things the demolishing of the old bus station and widening of Masarykova Street, will not cost more than EUR 20m.