Following today's decision, DARS will serve the decision to the bidders it had invited for talks. Potential complaints, the last possible in the process, may be filed within eight work days, but even in that case DARS expects to be able to introduce the contractor to the project in March 2020 at the latest.

Cengiz made the lowest offer for the project in the talks with DARS at the beginning of the month. Information published by DARS on the website of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange indicates it will complete the contract for EUR 98.5 million, VAT excluded. DARS expects to sign the contract with Cengiz in January.

Apart from Cengiz, DARS also invited to talks a consortium of Slovenian companies Kolektor CGP and Riko and their Turkish partner Yapi Merkezi, and a consortium including Implenia Österreich, Implenia Schweiz and CGP Novo Mesto. Kolektor CPG has announced it will not challenge the selection of the bidder.

DARS first published a public call to pick a contractor for the project in December 2017, but the process has been delayed by continuous appeals.

The start of construction had initially been slated for mid-2018. It is expected to take five years. Austria started boring its section of the tunnel in September 2018.