Mountains of documentation and tough negotiations with the European Investment Bank now await the expanded management team.
The state-owned company 2TDK, the investor of the long-anticipated rail section between Divača and Koper, has appointed new members to its management board. Together with the present director Žarko Sajič, they will be in charge of finances and the construction of the second rail track. The newly appointed members are Dušan Zorko, former CEO of Laško and Union breweries, and Marko Brezigar who headed the Slovenian Railways-Infrastructure company.
If until this spring the first operation man of the second railroad track was Metod Dragonja, this might now become Dušan Zorko. The supervisory board of the 2TDK company presided by lawyer Samo Logar, has appointed Zorko and Brezigar for four-year terms. At the next session, they are going to appoint a general director. Since Dragonja's departure, 2TDK has been run by Žarko Sajič, one of the few whose competences met the requirements for managing the country’s biggest infrastructure project. From the moment Alenka Bratušek took charge of the Ministry of Infrastructure, it became clear that she was looking for additional people, as the project had not developed quickly enough. PM Marjan Šarec has also stressed many times that progress was too slow.
It was not a political choice
The new members of the management team could be associated with two parties, Zorko with Social Democrats (SD) and Brezigar with the Modern Centre Party (SMC). But sources say that the choice was not based on political affiliation. Dušan Zorko, who is currently abroad, is not commenting on his appointment, because he has not yet been fully informed about it. Zorko says that he has been invited to join the project. His experience in the rescue and re-structuring of the Pivovarna Laško brewery and its sale to Heineken are certainly great recommendations for the demanding work at 2TDK. Last year, Zorko was mentioned as a candidate for leading the Slovenian Sovereign Holding. Six years ago, Marko Brezigar was in charge of the Slovenian Railways-Infrastructure company. Brezigar is a civil engineer with an MBA, who helped to introduce a digital radio system to the railways.
Mountains of documentation and tough negotiations with the European Investment Bank, which is said to have given the biggest loan for the second rail track, now await the expanded management team. The financial construction will have to be closed and actual construction will have to start, but prior to that comprehensive tenders will have to be prepared. If everything goes according to plan, the construction of the Divača-Koper rail section will start at the end of 2020.
