The problems surrounding the ferry line connecting Trogir with the islands of Veli and Mali Drvenik seem to have no end, reports Slobodna Dalmacija. Even though the Port Authority built a new ferry port at Soline in Trogir more than three months ago, both the ferry and the passengers are still far from being able to dock in Soline. Why? Because the access road from Trogir to the port still hasn’t been built, and we’re headed for another tourist season filled with frustration.
The residents of both Veli and Mali Drvenik don’t hide their dissatisfaction, furious because the last four years haven’t been enough to build a hundred metres of road connecting Trogir with the new Soline ferry port. Apart from passengers who still aren’t provided normal infrastructure to travel from Drvenik islands to Trogir, the Port Authority also has reason to be discontent, as they are suffering financial losses due to ferries currently docking at Trogir waterfront.
Director of the Port Authority Domagoj Maroević said the Town of Trogir would see an increase in profit if privately owned boats could dock at the main pier instead of ferries. “I’ll be honest with you, I’m bitter because of the problems surrounding the construction of an access road to the ferry port Soline. It’s been more than three months that we’ve built the new port in which we invested 20 million kuna. The Town had certain problems with land repurchase, but we remain helpless in the matter. The story of the ferry port has been going on for ages, and now we’re facing the last problem we’ve ever thought we’d face: a 100 metres of the access road. I have to say, in this whole matter, we’re suffering losses. We have to provide fishermen from Seget with berths because Seget is now overtaken by ferries, instead of welcoming yachts that would bring us money. Honestly,we’ve never had such a problem before, it could have all been finished a long time ago”, complained Maroević.
The former mayor of the Town of Trogir Ante Stipčić blamed the issue on legal proceedings, saying the land repurchase is finalised and that the next step is finding the contractor via public contest.
Knowing the complexity of procedures when it comes to contracting companies and potential complaints that could arise along the way, it’s hard to believe Soline will see any ferry passengers this summer.
