Voters Living Outside Croatia Can Help Stop Croatian Motorway Lease

Croatian citizens living abroad will be able to sign a referendum initiative against the Croatian government leasing out the nations motorways, the Ministry of Public Administration confirmed yesterday…

The Croatian government have announced plans to offer a 30-50 year concession to a private company to manage and operate 1,017 kilometres of Croatia’s motorways, but a number of Croatian unions and association groups against it announced recently that they would launch a petition for a referendum to put a stop to it. Media in Croatia reported on Tuesday that growing public pressure is forcing a re-think from the government.

10% of the eligible voters must sign the petition in order for a referendum to happen, and the task was made easier with yesterday’s statement from the Ministry allowing voters signatures living outside Croatia to be recognised. Signatures started to be collected on 11 October, and the initiative have until 25 October to collect the required number.

It was reported earlier that the proposed tender, which will be offered for between 30 and 50 years, would go for between 2.5 and 3 billion euros to a private outfit. The concession will include the sections; Bregana – Zagreb – Lipovac, Zagreb – Split – Ravca, Zagreb – Rijeka, and Zagreb – Gorican.