HŽ Infrastruktura Opens €1.5M Zagreb-Rijeka Alliance Bids

Croatia – HŽ Infrastruktura has opened two bids for a €1.5 million technical consultancy contract supporting an alliance-type delivery model on the Zagreb–Rijeka railway. The selected consultant will guide preparation of alliance procurement documentation for the Karlovac–Skradnik and Skradnik–Krasica–Tijani sections and support HŽ Infrastruktura during works execution and dispute proceedings. Both sections remain at preliminary design stage, with planning submission scheduled by the end of 2026.

What Does This Contract Cover?

The contract covers advisory support for an alliance-type contracting process, not construction or design work itself. Its scope includes developing a public procurement strategy, drafting procurement documentation, supporting negotiations with interested contractors, co-developing contract terms, and providing assistance through execution, appeals, and disputes. The five-year term reflects the expected duration from contract preparation through early delivery of the two mountainous sections.

Key Contract Data

How Does This Compare to Similar Contracts?

Project-specific alliance-contract consultancy data for Croatia’s state-owned infrastructure sector was not publicly available at time of publication. Comparable external advisory frameworks exist elsewhere: Deutsche Bahn and Kazakhstan Railways agreed a consulting cooperation covering passenger and freight rail, though that agreement is broader than a single project and does not use an alliance model. (Source: Railway PRO, 2025)

On the wider Croatian rail programme, HŽ Infrastruktura is separately delivering EU-funded work valued at €348.5 million on the Hrvatski Leskovac–Karlovac and Dugo Selo–Novska elements of the Plain Line Zagreb–Rijeka programme, with completion planned for the end of 2029. That work is an existing conventional-delivery benchmark against which the alliance model can be measured, since both parts of the programme are intended to support speeds up to 160 km/h. (Source: Railway PRO, 2025)

Editor’s Analysis

By appointing an external consultant to prepare Croatia’s first alliance-type infrastructure contract, HŽ Infrastruktura is deliberately separating procurement strategy from political delivery pressure. The outcome matters well beyond this €1.5 million advisory tender because the model will likely be reused across Croatia’s projected €6 billion railway investment pipeline over the next decade. Croatian rail freight demand is expected to strengthen in the medium-to-long term, giving the port-to-Central-Europe corridor structural importance beyond the headline passenger speed targets. (Source: Croatia Week, 2025; Market Data Forecast, 2025)

FAQ

Q: What is an alliance-type contract in rail construction?
A: An alliance model binds the client and contractor into a shared delivery structure from the design stage, with risks and rewards managed jointly. HŽ Infrastruktura is introducing this model on the new Zagreb–Rijeka sections because the terrain includes more than 30 viaducts and tunnels, where early collaboration can reduce design-construction disputes.

Q: When will construction start on the new Zagreb–Rijeka line?
A: For the Karlovac–Skradnik and Skradnik–Krasica–Tijani sections, planning applications are due by the end of 2026, following an environmental acceptability decision expected in 2025. An official construction start date for the full 175 km alignment has not been publicly confirmed.

Q: What will the new line mean for travel between Rijeka and Zagreb?
A: The new double-track electrified line is planned for passenger speeds up to 160 km/h and freight speeds up to 120 km/h, cutting the current route length by 56 km. It will also include five new stations and Croatia’s longest railway tunnel, a 14 km bore beneath the Velika Kapela mountain range.