Kobak: HŽ Orienting Towards Adriatic Ports

The Croatian Railways (Hrvatske željeznce – HŽ) have decided, planning their strategic business development, to pay more attention to freight transport from Adriatic ports to the countries of the EU, as well as to the development of suburban traffic. Those are some of the HŽ business goals for the future period, presented today by its new management board.

Davorin Kobak, the new President of the Board, stated at today’s press-conference how the HŽ, in the first eight months of this year, transported 14% more goods and 6% more passengers, achieving a 13% higher income from freight transport, and a 5% higher income from passenger transport. The HŽ was expecting to close the year 2005 without any losses.

Kobak explained how HŽ had experienced a vast anticlimax in the realization of investments, achieving only 30% of the planned value. He added how the main reason for that were the long-lasting procedures in selecting contractors and signing contracts.

Kobak also said that the HŽ was expecting to receive more money from the State budget in 2006. They were hoping for a total of HRK 2.9 billion, HRK 350 million of which they were planning to invest in the passenger traffic and the rest would be used for infrastructure, including the repair of 60 – 70 kilometers of railroad tracks.

He emphasized that the HŽ would introduce the “Adriatic orientation’’  to their business, i.e. concentrate their business activities more on Adriatic ports and less on the Corridor X. He pointed out that the growth of the amount of cargo is much higher in the Adriatic ports than in the Corridor X, adding how the HŽ was interested in the freight transport towards the Czech Republic and Hungary.

He informed the journalists how the HŽ was owing the suppliers HRK 480 million, and how they had received HRK 70 million from the State budget, recently. With a part of that money HŽ had already decreased its depth towards INA from HRK 35 million to HRK 10 million.

Kobak announced that, during the next three months, a tender would be organized for the selection of a new four staffed management board. The new HŽ Board had taken over all the business activities from the old HŽ Board on 5 October, scanning the situation in the company and organizing the first measures according the results they had established.  One of the measures was to continue with the realization of a HRK 178 million contract, signed with Đuro Đaković for the modernization of 300 freight cars. Kobak was planning the signing of this agreement to take place in 15 days.

According to his words, by 15 November, three HŽ dependent companies, employing 700 to 1000 workers, would sign a contract with the Croatian Privatization Fund. He also announced that HŽ would have to let go 600 workers in 2006.

Regarding recent accidents, the HŽ Board identified the human factor and the condition of the rail trucks to be the main causes for what had occurred. Related to that, they had started conducting field testing for alcohol. (Hina)

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