ZAGREB, October 7, 2020 — The opening of Sljeme’s cable car, connecting Zagreb with the peak of Sljeme, will not happen this month. The cable car was supposed to begin operating at the beginning of October. However, Mayor Milan Bandić postponed the grand opening for the third time this year.
Sljeme Cable Car Price Has Doubled Since Beginning of the Project
The Sljeme Cable Car (Žičara Sljeme) is one of the longest-running projects spearheaded by Zagreb mayor Milan Bandić. It will provide public transport from Zagreb’s neighborhood Dolje to the Peak of Sljeme on the Medvednica mountain. 13 years ago, the old one closed, and Bandić has been announcing the arrival a new one ever since. Expectations are not the only things which have grown in this project. From the initial HRK 300 million (or 39,633,380 EUR, excluding VAT), the price of the project more than doubled. In fact, it increased to as much as HRK 680 million (89,835,661 EUR), with costs expected to rise even further.
Project ‘Laughing Stock’ Due For Years Due to Continual Delays
Bandić moved the construction deadline so many times that the project became a laughing stock a few years ago. On December 31, 2018, members of the City Assembly Renato Petek and SDP’s Matej Mišić held a performance for the opening of the non-existent cable car. Then they invited journalists to Sljeme and opened champagne. This was in response to Bandić’s promise in 2017 that the cable car would be finished by 2018.
When construction began on January 25, 2019, Bandić promised that the opening would happen on the City of Zagreb Day, May 31, 2020. He acknowledged, that he wouldn’t be able to ride the new gondolas for the 2020 World Ski Cup in January. However, it would be possible to ride them, he claimed, for Zagreb City Day when he coincidentally celebrated 20 years in power.
That promise didn’t materialize either and then the mayor postponed the opening to June. But even then, the he announced the ‘last’ big delay. “I could not foresee COVID-19. The cable car was supposed to be ready at the end of June. Instead, it will be delayed three months,” said Bandić at the end of August.
‘Last’ Opening Delay Announced in June, Now Again Postponed
And it looks like once again this will not be the case according to ZagrebInfo. Because, instead of beginning operation this month, today the Zagreb mayor postponed the release of the cable car for the third time this year.
“We are in no hurry, and we haven’t given up on financing it partly with European funds, which is ongoing. Due to COVID-19, for three and a half, four months, people from Doppelmayr [Seilbahnen GmbH], Austria, couldn’t come to Zagreb. We will not do anything. God forbid, something bad happens when we put the gondolas on a test drive in ten days. Perhaps we’ll encounter problems when we issue the permit in November and put the cable car into operation,” said Bandić today. He added that the Austrians in question are actually the best company in the world. They received 111 million HRK (14,664,350 EUR) worth of equipment at a public tender. They signed two annexes to the contract increasing the cable car’s price by ‘only’ 5 million HRK (660556 EUR).
Cable Car of Zagreb Is World’s Most Expensive
Moreover, the Zagreb cable car is one of the most expensive in the world. In comparison, the most modern example in the world, the Swiss Matterhorn Cable Car, costs ‘only’ 340 million HRK (44,917,830 EUR). It rides to a height of 3883 meters.
The cable car ride will cost 50 kuna for Croatian citizens and 100 kuna for foreigners. On Friday, Bandić warned several times that the estimated lifespan of the cable car is 40 years and that the project will be profitable only after 37 years. In addition to the ticket price, citizens will pay about HRK 38 million each year for the loan of the cable car construction, for the coming 15 years.
Follow our Politics page for updates on the Sljeme cable car project.
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