Ljubljana - Prime Minister Janez Janša met with Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković on Wednesday to discuss the future of rail infrastructure in the country. Janša gave his support to the revived plans to upgrade the capital's rail infrastructure and set up a new bus and train terminal.

The meeting was also attended by Jože Mermal, the chairman of shopping and logistics hub BTC City, and Bojan Albreht, the head of jewellery company Zlatarna Celje, who is currently building a skyscraper at Ljubljana's Bavarski Dvor, the prime minister's office said.

Moreover, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek and Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec were present at the meeting where Janša endorsed the initiative that aims to decongest public transport and upgrade the rail hub in the Ljubljana municipality.

"It is time for relaunching and realising the project," the prime minister said.

The project, which was stalled almost ten years ago due to the financial crisis, is an opportunity for the capital to become a modern national and international transport hub that would significantly contribute to the relaunch of the economy after the corona crisis, the PM's office said.

The upgrade of Ljubljana's rail infrastructure was listed among the 2020-2023 development investments strategy by the government in September.

The Infrastructure Ministry has said that after all the project documentation is drawn up, the realisation of the investment could immediately kick off since the site planning has already been completed.

The first phase of the project will focus on upgrading the Ljubljana rail station to boost its passenger and cargo capacities, and will be followed by investments in other rail stations and sections in the city.

The project is worth almost EUR 109.9 million and will be funded by the state budget and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). The EU instrument's support has already been cleared.