Location potential
The Učka Nature Park is located at one of the northernmost points of the Mediterranean and connects Croatia’s largest peninsula, Istria, with the Primorje–Gorski Kotar County. The location (Kvarner Bay) has been a famous tourist destination for more than a century. Its combination of mountains (Učka) and the coastal part (beaches in Opatija and Medveja) make it ideal for a healthy and dynamic vacation. The counties of Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Istria recorded a 40 % increase in arrivals anually in the period from 2014. to 2019. with a tendency for further growth. It is therefore expected that construction of a cable car will definitely contribute to further development of the Kvarner area and the whole country. The top of Učka offers a 360 degree view that includes the Croatian inland, the shores of Italy (Venice and Trieste) and a wonderful view of the Kvarner Bay. Furthermore, the area is very well connected to Zagreb with the A6 highway via Rijeka and to all other main European traffic corridors. It is connected to Slovenia, Italy and the rest of Western and Central Europe via Istria by a tunnel through Učka. With the construction of the full profile of the "Istrian Y Motorway" highway and the beginning of the construction of the second tube of the tunnel Učka has improved the connection of the strongest tourist centers in the Republic of Croatia (Pula, Rovinj, Poreč, Umag) with departure and arrival station of the cable car. In addition, there are several airports in the immediate vicinity (the port of Rijeka on the island of Krk (47 km) and Pula (93 km)) where low-cost carriers regularly fly, while the largest international airport is Franjo Tuđman Airport in Zagreb, only 184 km away.
Project description
The Učka Cable Car is a strategic project of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and as such has been incorporated in the spatial plans. The founders of the SPV company Žičara Učka Ltd. are the Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Istria counties; the cities and municipalities of Rijeka, Opatija, Kastav, Lovran, Matulji, Mošćenička Draga, Kršan, Krk and Omišalj, and partly the owners of the land included in the project. The planned construction of a cable car route will connect the Adriatic coast with the peak of Učka Mountain (the Medveja-Vojak route). It is intended to increase the quality of services for the most developed tourist areas of Croatia with a very long tradition (Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Istria Counties). With the extension of the tourist season, this project should contribute to the attractiveness of the wider region since there is no comparable content in the vicinity. The unique location of the cable way could potentially become a global attraction. Učka is very popular tourist destination. It offers many recreational and sport activities including hiking, mountain biking, free climbing, paragliding and many others. Many international sporting competitions are also held here.
The tourism offer includes a large number of hotels and hospitality facilities with a wide range of categorization, some of which are located in the immediate vicinity of Učka Nature Park and in IstriA and the Kvarner region. The tourist offer in Učka has been significantly increased by the construction and commissioning of the newly built visitor center in the Nature Park at the Poklon location near the arrival station of the cable car.
CABLE CAR CHARACTERISTICS:
• Number of pillars 0 + 5
• Column dimensions - height of I-V columns = 45m, 44m, 29m, 53m, 44m
Project realization model
The project is currently in the process of obtaining a building permit. The procedure respectively request for the issuance of a building permit was launched in January 2023. It is expected that the building permit will be issued by the end of June 2023. Proceedings to resolve property-legal relations for the land are underway.
Estimated value of the investment project
The overall value of the project is estimated at 40 million EUR, of which approx. 25 million EUR will be related to the value of the cable car itself (without the access road to the starting station of the cable car and the construction of a water supply system at the location of the cable car's arrival station).
