ZAGREB, 30 Sept 2021 - Svilaj Bridge across the River Sava connecting Svilaj in Croatia with Donji Svilaj in Bosnia and Herzegovina will formally open today, and this 660-meter-long structure is located along the strategically important international Vc corridor.

The 29-meter-wide bridge with six lanes is on the pan-European Vc corridor route between Budapest via Osijek and Sarajevo to the Croatian seaport in Ploče.

In mid-June this year, Croatian Transport Minister Oleg Butković said that the project was worth €23.4 million.

This is a joint investment of Croatia's HAC motorway operator and the relevant authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the project was financed by Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina at a ratio of 50:50 with 58% of Croatia's share part being covered by EU funds from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).

Butković said in June that Croatia ensured a grant amounting to almost €7 million from the Connecting Europe Facility for its half (€11.7 million).

"This corridor is very important. We are completing the (motorway) section to Beli Manastir which will be finished next year and opened to traffic. We have just a few kilometers left to reach the border with Hungary and we expect to complete that by the end of 2023," said Butković on 15 June. He added that Croatia would do everything to have the procedure of categorizing the border crossing at Svilaj finished so that the bridge could be opened to traffic as soon as possible.

The construction of the bridge started in 2016 and was completed in 2020.

In attendance at today's red-ribbon cutting ceremony will be European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, and Bosnia and Herzegovina's Prime Minister Zoran Tegeltija.

For more news about Croatia, click here.

September 30, 2021 - 2027 European Games in Split? The Split Olympians Club is moving fast to ensure the city hosts this multi-sport spectacle. 

Split wants to host the 2027 European Games! It is a new multi-sport spectacle held in Baku in 2015, Minsk in 2019, and Krakow in 2023. Split wants to organize this competition in 2027, reports Slobodna Dalmacija.

"This is a time of decision, a turning point. We are deciding whether Split will become a big periphery or a small metropolis," said Željko Jerkov, the Split Olympians Club president.

Behind the idea is the Split Olympians Club, whose president is celebrated water polo player Milivoj Bebić. He and Jerkov, secretary of the Split Olympians Club Josip Reić, and great handball player and today coach Petar Metličić, met with the City of Split.

"We spoke with Deputy Mayor Antonio Kuzmanić, and as soon as possible, we will go to Rome together to the headquarters of the European Olympic Committees and get all the first-hand information about the type of candidacy, indicative costs, and how it should be held. Lots of technical details to prepare a presentation for the City Council, whose support we need, with the support of the Government of the Republic of Croatia," Jerkov said.

"We talked to Prime Minister Plenković, and he is absolutely behind us, as is the president of the Croatian Olympic Committee, Zlatko Mateša. These are games that are four times bigger than the Mediterranean Games, but just right for today's Split."

Why does Split need them?

"First, we have a great memory of the Mediterranean Games in the city. They have transformed this city; we think that for our type of city, one such, in fact, the largest multi-sport event in Europe, would be ideal for progress. We need a big manifestation."

How many should new facilities be built?

"The motto of these Games is not to build new facilities, but to integrate existing ones into the Games. There is no Olympic Village, the high costs borne by the Olympic Games are becoming more modest, but the Games themselves are crucial.

That is why many sports use them as qualifications for the Olympic Games. The Mediterranean Games lacked that sporting part, the flow to the Olympics. Maximum sporting feats must be achieved here."

What sports would be in Split?

"It is about 15 sports, but we can have 20 of them, we choose, but the basis is to enter sports that qualify for the Olympic Games through those Games. Then we can add something of our own. But the first is to address funding models."

How much will the Games cost?

"There are several financing models, that's why we are going to Rome. We can withdraw a lot of money from European funds. Now sports facilities can be financed with money from EU funds; one part will be provided by the state and the European Olympic Committee. We have to agree on that, the financing, then there are television, marketing rights. We choose the modality."

All the details will be learned in Rome.

"Then a serious organizing committee should be formed, first for the candidacy, and then for the implementation of the Games. But, first, we will put everything on the table for the City. Then make, make a presentation for the City Council, which should then, familiar with all the details, decide for the organizers of the European Games."

With money from the funds, from the European Olympic Committee, and from the state budget, the current sports facilities would be renovated. 

"The reconstruction of Poljud would certainly take place, the athletic stadium in the Youth Park would be renovated, we believe that the completion of the Spaladium Arena project would be possible, and the halls in the Gripe complex would also be renewed."

Given that there is a possibility of withdrawing funds outside the city budget, isn't this a chance to construct sports facilities lacking not only for athletes but also for the standard of living in Split?

"We believe that a real gymnasium could finally be built, then a new hall in the east of the city, so that Split, which has an incredible tennis tradition and results, finally gets indoor tennis courts."

It would be like the Mediterranean Games in Split 50 years later.

"That's right; we are going there with Deputy Mayor Kuzmanić first. Let's go for first-hand information so as not to be told. It is the fairest way to find out what that means there. We in the Split Olympians Club already know a lot; that's why we proposed and hold that this is a huge project for the new Split, as I said, to become a small metropolis," concluded Jerkov.

They now must collect all the relevant data and submit it to the city councilors. This is an excellent opportunity for the city to make a significant infrastructural step forward. The Mediterranean Games brought not only new sports facilities but also the Marjan tunnel.

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE.

September 30, 2021 - Plitvice Lakes October promo offers are running from October 15-24, with everything from discounted ticket prices to accommodation packages and special restaurant menus!

In this inspiring and much-loved autumn season, local and international tourists are encouraged to walk along the forest paths and embrace the colorful leaves with a view of the impressive Plitvice Lakes National Park waterfalls and lakes, reports Jutarnji List.

From October 15 to 24, Croatia's most popular national park has prepared promotional ticket prices:

Adults and students: 100 kn per person
Children (7 - 18 years): 35 kn per person
Children up to 7 years: free

If you are thinking of a slightly longer stay and overnight in the national park, take advantage of the autumn accommodations, including 1, 2, or 3 nights with breakfast or half board at the Hotel Jezero and a ticket to the Plitvice Lakes National Park. To complete the Plitvice autumn atmosphere, the park has prepared a combination of discounts on numerous facilities depending on the number of nights - boat rental on Lake Kozjak, use of the Finnish sauna at Hotel Jezero, relax massage, a ticket to Barać Caves, and Europe's largest cave park Grabovača and horseback riding at the nearby Terra Ranch. In addition, discounts for lunch or dinner at Vučnica bistro are offered to everyone who decides to spend the night with breakfast during the entire stay.

Shrouded in the soothing atmosphere of Plitvice Lakes and only three hundred meters from the emerald greenery of Kozjak, Hotel Jezero is located where the eponymous restaurant Jezero is located, which offers stunning views and relaxing greenery. 

Suppose you are looking for a wide range of specialties of local flavors prepared in new ways and still served in the original ambiance. In that case, the national restaurant Lička kuća is a location you must visit. In addition to traditional flavors, Lička kuća offers traditionally prepared lamb and veal peka with Lika potatoes. During October, visitors can find a promo menu of 120 kn per person at Lička kuća.

Lunch at the Poljana restaurant is a feast for all the senses - with the smell of fresh ingredients, local flavors, and a view that feeds the soul. During October, visitors can enjoy promo menus from 55 to 80 kn per person.

Find all the October details at: www.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

September 30, 2021 - Taste the Mediterranean is an international festival in Split, joining the world's best chefs with the local culinary scene through special menus, panels, and gala dinners. 

From October 6 to 9, Split will become the gastronomic center of the Mediterranean. The international festival Taste the Mediterranean brings the top world and local chefs to the city, whose restaurants have been awarded Michelin stars and Gault & Millau points. Chefs from seven countries will be guests at the Split restaurants Dvor, Kadena, Kinoteka, Hotel Park, Zora Bila, and Zrno Soli. Together with the host chefs, they will prepare six-course Mediterranean gala dinners accompanied by top wines, reports Dalmatinski Portal.

Chef Zlatko Marinović Noštromo will prepare an exclusive feast for the festival participants at the opening evening. The city's Fish Market will be turned into an elegant restaurant for the occasion.

For the first time during the festival, 'Nights of Split restaurants' will be held, an event organized by Taste the Mediterranean and the Tommy retail chain, a premium partner of the Taste the Mediterranean Festival, which recognized the value of this event for presenting and promoting Split and Split and Dalmatian gastronomy. The restaurants included in this program, 15 of them, will offer a special three-course Mediterranean menu and wine at a popular price to the citizens of Split and tourists on Friday, October 8, and Saturday, October 9, and provide them with a unique enogastronomic experience. The restaurants include Atlantida, Bajamonti, Brasserie on 7, Bokeria, Corto Maltese, Dujkin Dvor, Fantažija, Konoba Fetivi, Konoba Marul, Mazgoon, Laganini, Pandora Greenbox, Portofino, Sidi bar, and Šug. The tastes and aromas of the Mediterranean will be felt at every step of the city, and Split, as an authentic Mediterranean center of rich cultural and historical heritage, will show a wide range of its gastronomic offer: from fine dining to taverns (konobas).

The festival's main events will take place at the Briig Boutique Hotel, where the participants of the panel ‘Catering during and after COVID’ will gather on Thursday, October 7. The pandemic has hit tourism worldwide hard; not only has it affected the decline in catering turnover, but it has also imposed new rules and models of winning over guests and meeting their needs. Chef Vesna Miletić, Jelena Tabak, president of the National Association of Croatian Caterers, chef Ippei Uemura, Filip Verbanac, director of the Department for Spirits, Coffee and Catering Coca-Cola HBC for the Adria business unit, and Ivo Vrdoljak, restaurant owner, will uncover how professionals from the hospitality sector are coping with new challenges.

The importance of waste management in the hospitality and hotel industry will be discussed at the 'Zero waste' panel on Friday, October 8, and its participants are Nataša Kalauz, CEO of WWF Adria, chef Lionel Levy, president of the French association Gourméditerranée, Suzana Musa, CEO Veneficus, and Francesco Pantalone, General Manager of the Bellevue Hotel in Mali Lošinj.

Exchanging experiences and networking with other Mediterranean countries and the education of pupils, students, and professionals are the main goals of the Taste the Mediterranean Festival. Therefore, the program also includes culinary masterclasses of top foreign and domestic chefs and workshops for students of the private catering school Oliva Allegra, high school Aspira and high school Jure Kaštelan in Omiš.

The panel discussion 'Learn and make your dreams come true' is also intended for young people who want to invest in their knowledge. Kruno Rozić, head of education at the Raise the Bar Academy, will present how young chefs, waiters, and bartenders can win a Coca-Cola Academy Raise the Bar scholarship for training in prestigious world culinary schools. In addition, confectioner Tea Mamut, chef Nikolina Putica, chef Deni Srdoč from the Rijeka restaurant Nebo, and Tonči Drlje, head of gastronomy at the Aspira High School, will all share their inspirational stories of education in an international environment.

Taste the Mediterranean has established extraordinary cooperation with Spain, the festival's partner country, for the second year in a row and brings its specialties, wines, and olive oils to Split. In addition to the cooking show at the Briig Boutique Hotel, Spanish products will be presented by chef Maria Jimenez Latorre. At the Park Hotel with chef Goran Šikić, they will prepare a gala dinner with specialties from their country.

The festival's exclusive wine tastings will be led by excellent wine connoisseurs Alen Gulan, Siniša Koceić, and Rajner Rogulj from Split's Vinolike. At the same time, Dr. Mirella Žanetić will especially present Spanish extra virgin olive oils.

A group of chefs from the French association Gourméditerranée is also coming to the festival to present the gastronomy of Provence and the south of France in the best light, as well as the great world event Gout de France.

On Saturday, October 9, the festival participants will discover the beauties of Omiš and the Cetina river canyon and enjoy the delicacies of Radman's mills and Arsana Tasting House in Omis.

It will be an exciting promotion of Split and Dalmatia as the leading Mediterranean eno gastronomic destination and promote Croatian Mediterranean identity, food, and heritage.

Taste the Mediterranean is held under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, the Croatian Commission for UNESCO, the Ministry of Tourism and CNTB, Split-Dalmatia County, the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, and the Split Tourist Board.

For more on lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

September the 30th, 2021 - The Zagreb water system is no stranger to various issues, and with the recent bursting of water pipes in the Tresnjevka part of the city, questions about upgrading how it is all handled, as well as digitalisation, have come to the forefront.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, very frequent ruptures of Zagreb water pipes, which we've been witnessing all the more over recent days, cause enormous problems for residents, do significant damage to the economy and show how important it is to have an optimised and "smart" management system of something as complex as the Zagreb Water and Sewerage system.

The digitalisation of such systems is one of the main activities of the Zagreb-based company Schneider Electric, which is part of the eponymous global corporation based in France.

Here in Croatia, it is most represented in low-voltage electricity equipment and water management systems - in Croatian practice, more drainage because it is a segment that has recently been strongly co-financed from EU funds.

The biggest project of all is in Vukovar

Schneider's efforts, whose largest water project so far is the one with wastewater regulation in Vukovar, to be more strongly present in the modernisation of Croatian water management, especially in large cities, are also along these same lines.

As Tomislav Scrbak, Schneider Electric's sales director for Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, explained at a press conference held in Zagreb on Tuesday, the modernisation and digital management of water supply and sewerage systems are a necessity today because, in addition to security of supply and ecology, they are costly, and those higher costs are ultimately paid for by normal people.

"All modern industries today are optimised and digitised, and the same is the case with strategic sectors such as water systems. Although little has been done in Croatia so far on this issue, there are some bright examples, such as that in Ljubljana (Slovenia),'' said Scrbak.

From this company, whose main segments are IT, energy, industry and construction, they pointed out that they expect a lot from the reconstruction of Zagreb from the 2020 earthquake.

"Our business model is ''open source'', that is, we go into every project with partners because our equipment is open and adaptable for any kind of connection. We're already a leader on the Croatian market of low voltage electrical equipment, we have cooperation in the production of transformers with Koncar, and we're going to the Zagreb renovation project with our partners because Schneider rarely appears independently as a supplier and contractor, and we focus more on equipment production and system integration,'' explained Scrbak.

The company believes that the newly renovated buildings in the Croatian capital should have at least the basic equipment of a "smart home" for energy efficiency in terms of electricity, heating/cooling and water consumption, which, they point out, is now a technology whose price is negligible.

They added that their building management systems are used mainly by all commercial construction, while in residential ones, it is less frequent and more modest.

“Investors in apartments are mostly interested in the lowest possible starting price per square metre for sale. They're less concerned about total energy costs over a period of five, 10 or 20 years. The exception is investors such as VMD, who are already calculating multi-year costs from the very beginning and estimate that a minimal increase in the price at the beginning brings them long-term big savings,'' stated Schneider Electric.

It is otherwise company that operates in more than 100 countries and globally employs 130,000 people with revenues of 25.2 billion euros, as they had last year. Their main global competitors are Siemens and General Electric.

For more, make sure to check out our business section.

September the 30th, 2021 - The 2020 Zagreb earthquake was a horrendous experience for all who experienced it. I was one of them. It was difficult to believe that, amid the very light snow which had just started to fall, the car alarms sounding, pieces of neglected facades falling and a global pandemic, that what was going on was real.

It seemed somewhat Biblical. Anyone who has experienced a strong earthquake and the horrifying, deafening sound they produce has no desire to ever live through anything similar again. As such, it is difficult to measure the trauma residents of Petrinja, Glina and other areas of Central Croatia continue to experience following the tragic natural disaster at the end of December last year.

Emotions aside, Zagreb is no stranger to earthquakes and many small ones which are barely felt, if at all, occur throughout the year. They also occur along the faultline near Sisak-Moslavina. Was the 2020 Zagreb earthquake the strongest the city has experienced in the last 140 years? With terrible ones occuring previously, that answer has finally come.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the scientific journal Geophysics looked into the 2020 Zagreb earthquake and offered an answer to that question. ''We recently published the first article that is part of our special issue dedicated to the 2020 Zagreb earthquake series that began with an earthquake of local magnitude 5.5 on March the 23rd, 2020,'' it reads.

This article offers an answer to a question that was very topical in the first days after the 2020 Zagreb earthquake struck, resulting in billions in damages: Which earthquake was stronger - the one from 1905, 1906 or the one from 2020?

Professors Marijan and Davorka Herak and colleagues Mladen Zivcic from the Slovenian ARSO searched the archives, excavated old seismograms, compared, analysed and calculated a lot, and concluded that the earthquakes of 1906 and 2020 can be considered approximately equal in magnitude to ML = 5.3, but that this one from 2020 caused a stronger shake.

The earthquake of 1905 is definitely weaker than these two were. Feel free to take a look at the original article,'' it reads, and that article can be read in full here.

September the 30th, 2021 - The month of October in Croatian hotels looks extremely promising indeed, in some cases exceeding the pre-pandemic period. One vital segment for Croatian hotel business at this time of year is also making a comeback.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, the autumn occupancy of Croatian hotels this year will, as stated, exceed the pre-pandemic period, and this has been well and truly confirmed by the Bluesun Hotels & Resorts group, whose hotels are open due to demand almost until the end of October. They also report a strong return of congress guests and events.

"With the arrival of September, due to the beginning of the new academic/school year, the structure of our guests changes, and there is a change in the motive for coming, it's not just the sea and the sun anymore. These are guests who require much more additional content, are much more active, much more mobile, more inclined to explore their destinations, the hinterland, the interior of Croatia... They're also usually more involved in sport, more dedicated to themselves, and therefore more into exploring local gastronomy and using the wellness facilities,'' said Stjepko Sosic of Bluesun Hotels & Resorts.

As such, the company put the offer of sport, gastronomic and wellness facilities and packages in the foreground, and in their promotion they addressed couples and individuals, who are the most represented in this period of the season because they want to avoid the biggest crowds and the brutal Croatian summer heat.

In addition to the above, regardless of the fact that the whole of Croatia has been on the ECDC red list since the beginning of September, it seems few people pay attention to it and new reservations are still coming in on a daily basis. "In some terms for the end of September, we had to stop selling due to lack of capacity. Considering that the weather was very nice through September, a large part of the guests extended their stays by a few days compared to the period they initially booked,'' added Sosic.

Currently, in Bluesun's nine open hotels, six of which are on the Makarska Riviera, and one campsite, in addition to an increasing number of individual guests, are sports and fitness groups.

"At the end of September and through October, we have numerous MICE (meetings, incentives, congresses and events) events in our hotels with congress facilities. MICE is much stronger this autumn than we expected and there's been a strong demand from the corporate environment, and we're especially pleased with the recovery of this sales segment, which is extremely important for the extension of the season. These are working meetings and mostly Croatian companies from the field of medicine, the IT sector and the pharmaceutical industry,'' revealed Marija Benjak, the head of direct, group and MICE sales for the company.

For more on Croatian hotels, check our our travel and business sections.

September the 30th, 2021 - The Croatian company Koncar is busy strengthening its position on the Swedish market after having signed its first contract with a Swedish system operator, worth a massive 63 million kuna in total.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, the month, the Croatian company Koncar (Koncar Energy and Transport Engineering (KET) signed its first contract with the Swedish distribution system operator Vattenfall Eldistribution. This 63 million kuna strong contract includes a very complex reconstruction of the 130 kV plant at the transformer station (TS) 220/130/70/20 kV Finnslatten in Västerås, which is located not far from the Swedish capital of Stockholm, and was signed by Ivan Tomsic of the Croatian company Koncar.

The contract is the result of three years of systematic performance and sales activities on the Swedish market, and Koncar states that it was obtained in strong competition from local reputable companies.

“Based on its own extremely high standards, the customer has carried out a pre-qualification procedure for a project that is of strategic importance for supplying the industrial zone and priority customers. Special emphasis was placed on safety at work, compliance of business processes with quality monitoring and environmental protection systems and detailed safety checks of all members of the project team,'' they say from the company.

The reconstruction project of TS 220/130/70/20 kV Finnslatten, which is expected to be completed in the middle of 2023, is a complex project involving the replacement of the external, air-insulated 70 kV plant with a new 130 kV plant. The reconstruction process includes the preparation of all of the project documentation, the delivery and replacement of high-voltage primary equipment, secondary equipment, auxiliary systems, the construction of a new control building, as well as the necessary construction work, functional tests, and the commissioning and maintenance during the warranty period.

In addition to all of the above, which is extensive enough on its own, the subject of the contract also involves the procurement and laying of 145 kV cables and other equipment for the purpose of connecting priority customers on the route of 4 kilometers.

According to what is currently known about the deal, the Croatian company Koncar will, in addition to the local subcontractor for construction works, rely on its own experts for project management and design, and will also open a branch office that will serve the local implementation of this and all future projects in Sweden.

“The development of activities over on the Swedish market is supported by the recently received decision on the selection of the Croatian company Koncar as the best bidder for the project of reconstruction of secondary protection, control and SCADA systems for the Swedish transmission system operator Svenska Kraftnat. This project represents a very complex project involving the reconstruction of secondary systems of 400 and 220 kV transformer stations, which confirms the quality, professionalism and expertise of Koncar from sales to the implementation of complex projects on the wider EU market,'' the company concluded.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.