- News
- International
Major European infrastructure projects are becoming more expensive, while the second rail track remains within the planned budget
Major European infrastructure projects are becoming more expensive, while the second rail track remains within the planned budget
In a special report published earlier this year, the European Court of Auditors analyzed eight major European infrastructure projects. It found that the total estimated costs of the analyzed projects had increased by an average of 82 percent compared to the initial estimates, with individual projects becoming 40 to 291 percent more expensive. In this regard, the Divača–Koper second track differs from other European projects, as it remains within the budget established at the start of the project in 2019. The audited projects are also compared to the project’s investment value in 2019.
The European Court of Auditors analyzed eight major transportation infrastructure projects with cross-border impacts: Rail Baltica, the Lyon–Turin rail link, the Brenner Base Tunnel, the Fehmarn Belt project, the Basque Y rail link, the Canal Seine Nord Europe, the A1 highway in Romania, and the E59 railway line in Poland. The report also found that not only have the projects become more expensive, but the completion dates for many of them have also been delayed. For five projects, the auditors identified delays ranging from four to 22 years compared to the original plans.
The second-track project is nearing completion. In May, 2TDK submitted an application for an operating permit, and the project remains within the budget allocated in the 2019 basic investment program. Although the construction of the second track faced the same challenges as major European projects—the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, supply chain disruptions, a shortage of skilled labor, rising prices for construction materials and energy, and challenging geological conditions—the project remains within its original financial framework. The project’s investment costs will not exceed 1,150 million EUR. This means that, despite the exceptionally challenging circumstances, the second track has not experienced the cost overruns that have plagued many comparable European infrastructure projects.