Road infrastructure financing in the Republic of Croatia and its impact on public debt

Prometna infrastruktura je važan segment svakog gospodarstva u okviru koje cestovna infrastruktura ima posebno značenje, a što je prepoznato u Republici Hrvatskoj te se stoga u periodu od 2001. do 2016. godine intenzivno ulagalo u njen razvoj. Uspjelo se u navedenom vremenskom razdoblju izgraditi značajan broj novih kilometara autocesta, poluautocesta i cesta visoke služnosti. Obim takve izgradnje iziskivao je velika dodatna financijska sredstva koja je Republika Hrvatska osiguravala dugoročnim zaduživanjem kod domaćih i stranih banaka. Uz osvrt na realizaciju investicijskih ciklusa u periodu od 2001. do 2016. godine te prometne politike Republike Hrvatske i Europske unije, u ovom radu prikazuju se osnovni podaci o zaduženjima (vanjskim izvorima financiranja) cestarskih društava i troškovima zaduživanja te se daje usporedba s troškovima zaduživanja Republike Hrvatske na domaćem i stranim financijskim tržištima u navedenom periodu. Ulaskom Republike Hrvatske u Europsku uniju otvaraju se nove mogućnosti financiranja cestovnih infrastrukturnih projekata putem europskih fondova stoga se u radu daje osvrt na takva alternativna financiranja.Transport infrastructure is an important segment of every economy, and within it even more important is the road infrastructure, which was recognized in the Republic of Croatia, resulting in many investments in road infrastructure development in the period 2001-2016. The result was a considerable number of new kilometres of motorways, semi-motorways and highly utilized roads. The volume of such a construction required a significant additional funds; the Republic of Croatia managed to provide the funds by long-term borrowings from national and international banks. Apart from outlining the realization of the investment cycles during the period 2001-2016 and the transport policy of the Republic of Croatia, this paper also shows the basic data on borrowings (external financing sources) of road construction companies and the costs, together with the comparison of the Republic of Croatia borrowings on domestic and inter-national financial markets in the specified period. After the Republic of Croatia has joined the European Union, new opportunities for the financing of transport infrastructure projects with the EU funds have been provided, and that is why this paper offers an overview of such alternative financing methods