Ljubljana - The state-owned company managing the project of the new railway line between the port of Koper and the Divača hub has downgraded the estimated costs of the project by almost 7% to EUR 1.126 billion.

2TDK updated the investment plan and investment costs due to the main construction work starting later than originally planed and based on more precise estimates of amounts from tenders, the company said in a press release on Thursday.

Compared to the previous investment programme from January 2019, which amounted to EUR 1.194 billion, including EUR 1.15 billion in investment costs, the new programme reduces investment costs by 6.8% to EUR 1.126 billion.

The changes in the new programme include analyses of demand, employment and operational and maintenance costs, and a new investment timeline.

Together with the new timeline and estimated investment costs, the new programme for what is currently the largest construction project in the country will be sent to the relevant 2TDK bodies by the end of March.

The company announced on Wednesday that it had picked Kolektor CPG as the contractor for the Divača-Črni Kal section of the new railway line, as it outbid a consortium led by Austria's Strabag.

The Slovenian company offered to build the section for EUR 403.6 million, almost EUR 60 million less than Strabag. It plans to do the work in conjunction with two Turkish builders, Yapi Merkezi and Özaltin.

A decision on the contractor for the other section, from Črni Kal to Koper, is to be announced next week. Kolektor CPG is the only one to have submitted an offer, at a price of EUR 224.7 million.