The Dutch company, which will secure a 14-metres deep seabed, will start with the work on 15 July, with Matič expressing his expectation that everything will run according to plan.

Although the work will be conducted 24 hours a day no disturbances in the operations of Slovenia's sole commercial port are expected, Luka Koper said.

The port operator already had Costruzioni generali Xodo working on the seabed, but works came to halt in May and the contract with the Italian company, chosen as the cheapest contractor in the first tender, was not prolonged since not even one tenth of the planned work had been done.