Under the government decree adopted on Thursday, the Infrastructure Ministry has 30 days to present information about how to proceed with the project, both technically and financially.

The massive project, dubbed Emonika, was conceived in 2007 as a public-private partnership between rail operator Slovenske Železnice and the Hungarian-Canadian company Trigranit.

Valued at EUR 320 million, it was supposed to include a new bus and train terminal at the site of the existing central train and bus station, an office tower, hotel, shopping mall and entertainment facilities.

The rail operator was supposed to provide the land and the private partner the funding for the entire project.

Beset by siting delays and permit problems, the project never took off and the partnership was dissolved after years of legal proceedings.

Since last year the land on which the office tower and mall are to be built has been in the hands of Mendota Invest, a developer with close ties to the Hungarian bank OTP, which has been present in Slovenia since it acquired SKB Banka in early 2019.

Media reports suggest Mendota Invest wishes to develop the commercial portion, while the state would finance the rail portion of the public investment and Slovenske Železnice would build a new bus terminal north of the existing tracks.