Croatian government to part-finance electric bus chargers in Zagreb

The government of Croatia is set to provide significant investment into electric bus chargers in the country's capital of Zagreb. The country's ministry of finance has said it will contribute €21 million euros to a €27.4m electric bus infrastructure initiative.

The funding will go to Zagrebacki Elektricni Tramvaj (ZET), Zagreb’s public electric transport company. The funds will be used to install 62 double chargers at the bus station in Zagreb’s Podsused neighbourhood, with a total of 124 charging bays to power electric low-platform buses.

No details have yet been provided on the power specification of the chargers, but ZET has said that the funding will cover chargers, installations, construction, testing and the use of smart charging modules to optimise the charging process.The project is set for completion by June 2026.

The funds are being provided under Croatia’s national recovery and resilience plan, which will also see the government call a €21.2m euro public tender to co-finance the purchase of EVs for public companies plus a further €45m euro for logistics and taxi firms to do the same.

ZET CEO Marko Bogdanovic said: “I am proud that ZET and Zagreb are once again in the implementation of new technologies in this area. By signing this Treaty, ZET will stand by side to other European public carriers who have recognized the benefits of electrification of the bus fleet.”

The news follows an announcement earlier this year that Zagreb would procure 70 battery-electric buses to modernise its public transport network. The preliminary tender, revealed in April of this year, covered 33 standard buses, 29 articulated buses, and eight midi-buses.

zet.hr (Croatian), seenews.com