Ljubljana - The Austrian builder Strabag has appealed against the decision by the state-owned company 2TDK to pick a Slovenian-headed consortium as the contractor to build the new railway between Koper and Divača.

Kolektor CPG, partnering with the Turkish companies Yapi Merkezi and Özaltin, has been initially picked to build the section between Divača and Črni Kal as the cheapest bidder.

The cost of the section was capped at EUR 472 million. The Kolektor CPG-led consortium offered to build it for EUR 403.6 million, while Strabag submitted a EUR 463.5 million bid in partnership with the German company Ed Züblin and Turkish Gülermak Agir.

2TDK, the company managing the project, today announced that Strabag is challenging the pick for that section of the railway.

As the only remaining bidder, Kolektor CPG was then also picked to build the section of the railway between Črni Kal and Koper, with the cost estimate of EUR 224.7 million. The cost of the section was capped at EUR 230.7 million.

Kolektor is thus offering to thus build the entire section of the new railway for EUR 628.3 million.

2TDK said it was planning to sign a contract with the selected bidder for what is currently the biggest construction project in the country on 31 March.

They expect work on the project could begin in May. The railway's construction is slated for completion in 2025, with the track to be opened to traffic the next year.