Croatia approves €160 million electronic toll collection system funding

The Croatian government approved financing for the "Electronic Toll Collection System" project, valued at €160.5 million. €115.6 million of the cost is classified as eligible under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO) and will be funded from EU‑backed recovery funds, while the remaining €44.9 million will be covered by the project owner, Hrvatske autoceste (Croatian highways).

The system aims to modernise toll collection on motorways managed by Hrvatske autoceste and concessionaires Autocesta Zagreb‑Macelj (AZM) and BINA Istra. The Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure is the partner on the project. Eligible expenses include design, construction, equipment procurement, digital and user functions, supervision, project management and promotion. Ineligible costs comprise VAT of €29.3 million and other operational and maintenance expenses totalling €15.6 million.

Implementation is scheduled to start on 1 March 2027. In the same government session, a state guarantee and prior consent were granted to Hrvatske autoceste for long‑term credit up to €2.1 billion, covering interest and fees.