PPPs first appeared in the country in 2005, but it wasn’t until 2008 that the framework was properly instituted. Up until 2012, the only significant project to be completed were the Istrian “Y” highway PPP, 29 schools projects and the new airport passenger terminal PPP in Zagreb.
According to Damir Juričić, director of the Croatian PPP agency, the reasons for such sluggish dealflow were many, but mostly boiled down to lack of significant political support and a difficult procedure for projects in application, approving and tendering.
“The old system was just too complicated overall, plus you had to deal with the politics at the time which was not always fully supportive of the market. Even now the question of political support still remains, but there are roundly positive changes.”
Read more: PPP Bulletin article
