Which big projects await the country in the year to come?
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 14th of January, 2018, beliefs that both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) would soon be able to act in the same way as Fitch Ratings did, and raise Croatia’s credit rating, aren’t entirely unfounded.
Fitch Rating’s decision to increase Croatia’s credit rating is the first step towards the strengthening of the creditworthiness of the Croatian state. Similar decisions, analysts believe, could soon be made by the other two aforementioned leading rating agencies, Moody’s and S&P. According to financial circles, a delegation from Moody’s should be visiting Zagreb before the end of the month, and representatives of S&P should also come with them.
“I hope that we’ll be in the investment grade by the end of the year. If Fitch gave us this rating, then we can expect that others will increase our rating too,” stated Hrvoje Stojić, a macroeconomist at Addiko Bank.
“The trends in the Croatian economy are positive and a lot has been done to regulate the situation in public finances, so I believe that other rating agencies will follow Fitch’s move and confirm these positive trends in the Croatian economy,” added Damir Novotny, an economic analyst.
With Croatia’s credit rating being raised for the first time since 2004, and some good news finally circulating about the state of the domestic economy after such a long time, not to mention the surprisingly controlled impact of the Agrokor crisis that threatened the Croatian economy with complete collapse last year, let’s take a look at seven major, strategic projects that are set to mark 2018 in Croatia.
Pelješac Bridge
The bridge that almost never was, in the opinon of many after such a long time and an unthinkable amount of bumps in the road, as well as the constant disapproval of the neighbours in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The bridge will be constructed by a Chinese consortium for just over 2 billion kuna, the cheapest of all the offers. The beginning of the works on this long-awaited project begin are reportedly set to start in spring this year, with the end planned to be 2021.
INA – MOL
By announcing a tender for a consultant/adviser, the government has finally kick-started in the process of redeeming INA’s stake from MOL and finding a future strategic partner of the oil company.
Lex LNG
The government is preparing a special law to facilitate and accelerate the realisation of the floating LNG terminal in Omišalj for which the European Union has approved 100 million euro in grants.
The refinancing of debt
Negotiations with domestic financers about the issuance of bonds are ongoing, which will continue the process of eventually solving the eye-watering 5.1 billion road sector debt.
The Zaprešić-Zabok line
HŽ Infrastructure are set to select the best of the seven submitted bids for the modernisation of this route, with 85% of the necessary funds for the project financed by the European Union. The estimated overall value of the project is around 600 million kuna.
The selling off of state-owned hotels
Investors have already submitted their bids for Club Adriatic, Hoteli Maestral (Maestral Hotels), Makarska Hotels, and on Monday, an offer for Jadran (Adriatic) from Crikvenica is set to be opened.
Uljanik
At the government’s last session, they received a state guarantee of 43.3 million dollars, and a strategic partner should soon be selected.
