US embassy cable - 05LJUBLJANA144

UNCLAS  LJUBLJANA 000144 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/NCE, EUR/ERA, EB, OES 
USDOC FOR 4232/ITA/MAC/EUR/OEERIS/SAVICH 
 
E.O. 12958:    N/A 
TAGS: ECON, ETRD, SI 
SUBJECT:  SLOVENIA LOOKS TO REJUVENATE ITS TRANSPORT 
INFRASTRUCTURE; COM MEETS NEW SLOVENIAN TRANSPORT MINISTER 
 
1. Summary: In a February 24 courtesy call, new Slovene 
Minister of Transport, Janez Bozic, highlighted for COM his 
goals for revitalizing Slovenia's transportation 
infrastructure in all four sectors of his portfolio: roads, 
railways, sea transport, and aviation.  Railway development 
is Bozic's top priority, with EUR 100 million in investment 
planned by 2007, half of that EU funds.  COM raised the long- 
delayed installation of radiation detection portals at the 
Port of Koper with the Minister.  Bozic and his team were 
enthusiastic and made a very positive first impression.  End 
Summary. 
 
2. COM, accompanied by DCM, Pol/Econ Chief and FSN 
Econ/Commercial Specialist, called on the new Slovenian 
Minsiter of Transport, Janez Bozic (pronounced Bozhich), 
February 24.  Bozic was joined in the hour-long meeting by 
his State Secretary Peter Verlic and Chief of Staff Gordana 
Grahek.  Bozic spoke quickly and mostly in Slovene 
throughout the meeting.  He showed a complete command of his 
portfolio, probably because his previous position prior to 
joining the Government as the head of DARS, the public 
company that runs Slovenia's highway network, prepared him 
well for his new challenge at Transport. 
 
----- 
ROADS 
----- 
 
3.  Bozic emphasized that the road sector is the most 
developed of the transportation sectors in Slovenia and the 
highway "cross" of the 5th and 10th Pan-European corridors 
is almost finished.  He called the condition of the 750 
kilometers of highway in Slovenia "excellent," but indicated 
that much more attention must be paid to the 6,000 
kilometers of national (secondary) roads, which are in 
poorer condition.  Bozic said that not only rehabilitation, 
but also construction of new roads, bypasses and rings is 
necessary around Slovenia's more busy, industrial cities 
such as Maribor, Celje and Jesenice. 
 
4.  Since 1995, Slovenia has invested nearly EUR 3 billion 
in highway infrastructure.  According to the minister, one 
half of that amount was acquired through loans from several 
sources, including the European Investment Bank.  These 
loans are being repaid with tolls collected throughout the 
highway system.  The Ministry estimates an investment of 
approximately EUR 1 billion is needed in the national road 
system over the next 6-8 years. 
 
--------- 
RAILWAYS 
--------- 
 
5.  According to Bozic, much greater emphasis will be given 
to the development of the railroad system in Slovenia in the 
coming years.  Estimates suggest EUR 1 billion  in 
expenditures will be necessary for upgrades and 
improvements.  The Ministry's aim is to ensure greater 
transportation capacity to and from the Port of Koper via 
railroad, which is considered an environmentally cleaner 
alternative to road transportation.  Despite the interest of 
neighboring countries and France, the Minister believes a 
high-speed railway is not a realistic plan for Slovenia, as 
cost estimates go beyond EUR 5 billion.  (NOTE:  Bozic's 
deputy, State Secretary Verlic, came to the Ministry from 
Slovenia's national railway. END NOTE.) 
 
------------- 
SEA TRANSPORT 
------------- 
 
6.  Bozic described Slovenia's interest in the facilitation 
of "seaway motorways."  He is keen on the idea of clustering 
the Adriatic ports (Koper, Trieste, Rijeka, Ancona) and 
adopting a uniform and compatible system among them.  As he 
sees it, this would create a counterweight to the 
economically powerful North Sea ports and increase the 
region's competitiveness.  According to Bozic, a uniform 
port system would create "seaway motorways," which would 
ultimately increase trade in the Adriatic region.  The GoS 
is also a majority owner of the Port of Koper, hence the 
strategic vision of the Ministry of Transportation will 
directly impact the development of the Port. 
 
7.  COM mentioned to the minister the agreement currently 
being worked out between the GoS and USG, which would place 
radiation detection monitors in the Port of Koper as part of 
an anti-terrorism program. The minister was not aware of 
this project, but thanked the COM for the information. 
(NOTE:  Once an implementing is hammered out between the US 
 
 
Department of Energy and the Slovene Ministry of Finance, 
these portals will go into the Port of Koper and at least 
one major land crossing.  Negotiations are set to continue 
in Ljubljana in mid-March.  END NOTE.) 
 
-------- 
AVIATION 
-------- 
 
8.  Concerning the fourth sector of the Ministry's 
activities, aviation, Bozic is most interested in achieving 
the ratification by Parliament of an agreement signed with 
the Committee for European Airspace Coordination (CEAC). 
Under this project, Slovenia would become part of 
EUROCONTROL, a Europe-wide unified military and civil 
airspace control organization.  The Minister asked COM for 
his help in pushing this issue in Slovenia through NATO 
channels, as Bozic believes work needs to be done to 
convince the National Assembly of the positive implications 
of this organization.  The Ministry will also focus on the 
importance of developing the largest three civilian and 
military airports: Brnik, Maribor and Cerklje as part of the 
country's development agenda. 
 
--------------------------------- 
PRIVATE-PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS (PPP) 
--------------------------------- 
 
9.  COM commented on the positive experience of PPPs and 
the possible implications they may have in the development 
of infrastructure.  COM also applied this to the case of 
Port of Koper, since much has been heard lately about the 
construction of its third pier.  In his reply, Bozic 
emphasized two main challenges he saw with implementing PPPs 
in Slovenia.  The first was lack of legislation to regulate 
this sort of development in Slovenia.  The second, according 
to Bozic, was the lack of positive experiences with PPPs in 
Slovenia.  He believes Slovenia is not yet ready for this 
type of endeavor, however, due to budgetary constraints, he 
conceded that it is necessary to consider all possibilities 
for financing the development of infrastructure. 
 
ROBERTSON 
 
 
NNNN 

 2005LJUBLJ00144 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED 


 
v1.6.2