Koncar constructing new trains for national railway operator

Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic on Tuesday visited the Koncar - Elektricna Vozila company, which is currently constructing low - floor trains for the national passenger railway operator HZ Putnicki Prijevoz, the first of which should be delivered by the end of March next year.

Koncar won the job at an international tender, and contracts to deliver 44 passenger trains were signed in late January this year with a total value of HRK 1.63 billion (without VAT).

The construction will be conducted in two phases: the first phase includes the delivery of 20 electrical trains and one diesel train, while another 12 electrical and 11 diesel trains will be delivered in the the second phase. The trains are state - of - the - art products developed by Koncar while the main parts were developed by Koncar's affiliate companies.

After touring the plant, Milanovic said that the new contingent of trains would be on the tracks by March and after that a train or two would be released each month. They are being built in Croatia by our people, they were designed by our people and almost all the know-how in these trains is domestic, 70 percent of them are domestically produced components, Milanovic said. He recalled that together with a Koncar delegation he had visited Turkmenistan last week, which is one of the potential export markets for Koncar.

Milanovic underscored that Koncar was one of the stars of Croatian industry and that the government was one of its co - owners. The company is working and developing independently. We are currently looking for strategic partners, he said.

Asked why the state was considering to sell its share in such a successful company, Milanovic said that this was not true.


(Hina)