Croatian railway infrastructure operator HŽ Infrastruktura has selected Indian engineering and construction firm Afcons Infrastructure Limited to execute a €677 million rail upgrade, the largest project of its kind in the nation's history.
The Mumbai-based contractor submitted the most economically favourable bid, valued at €677,055,750.67 excluding Value Added Tax (VAT), outperforming international competitors to secure the contract.
The contract covers the complete reconstruction of the existing single track and the construction of a second track along the 83-kilometre Dugo Selo to Novska route, a critical link in the domestic network and broader European transit corridors.
The procurement selection expands the international footprint of Afcons Infrastructure Limited, which serves as the flagship infrastructure division of India's multi-industry conglomerate, the Shapoorji Pallonji Group.
It represents the company's largest international order to date and its formal entry into the competitive European infrastructure market.
Industry analysts indicate that the contract heavily depends on co-financing from European Union (EU) funds, which are targeted at modernising Eastern European transport corridors.
Once the contractor is formally introduced to the site, construction operations are expected to last for five years and 10 months.
The multi-disciplinary engineering scope stretches beyond basic track rehabilitation, requiring the complete overhaul of railway power infrastructure and the installation of overhead electrification.
Technical teams will install new telecommunication networks alongside advanced signalling and traffic management systems to handle increased line capacity.
The project involves the reconstruction of several railway stations and stops, alongside the removal or grade separation of numerous traditional rail-road crossings to eliminate bottlenecks.
Acoustic management plans require the installation of extensive noise protection barriers near populated zones along the 83-kilometre alignment.
The design upgrades will permit passenger and freight trains to operate at maximum speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour, improving regional transit reliability.
The Indian firm enters the European continent with a well-established track record for executing large-scale, technically complex transport developments within highly challenging geographic terrains.
The company constructed the Chenab Railway Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir, a single-arch structure standing 359 metres above the riverbed, making it the highest railway bridge in the world.
The company also built the 9.02-kilometre Atal Tunnel in the Himalayas, the world's longest highway tunnel situated at an altitude above 10,000 feet, which provides year-round connectivity through severe winter conditions.
According to global data from the Engineering News-Record (ENR) survey, the firm ranks twelfth worldwide in bridge construction and eighth in marine and ports infrastructure.
Company executives confirmed that team mobilisation and formal documentation processes are currently underway ahead of the official ground-breaking ceremony in Croatia.
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