Croatia Efficient Maritime Transport Project (WB-P509484)

Regions
  • Europe and Central Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Croatia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • World Bank (WB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Canceled
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
A
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Jul 21, 2026
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Jadrolinija; Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
  • Law and Government
  • Transport
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 160.72 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 270.35 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ WB website

Updated in EWS Oct 28, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Aug 19, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the objective of this project is to enhance the quality, efficiency and financial and environmental sustainability of Croatia's ferry services by strengthening Jadrolinija's corporate governance, improved operational performance and supporting the transition to a modern low-emission fleet.

The project is an Investment Project Financing (IPF) operation supporting Jadrolinija, Croatia's state-owned ferry operator, with disbursement of funds linked to the achievement of governance and sectoral reforms through a set of Performance-Based Condition (PBCs). The financing envelope combines EUR 150 million from IBRD to support reforms and the acquisition of green vessels on public service obligation (PSO) routes, and EUR 80 million from IFC, which will finance vessels for commercial routes and restructure or refinance Jadrolinija's commercial debt under more favorable terms, while adding value on sustainability and Environmental and Social (E&S) standards. Disbursements from the IBRD tranche will only be made once key corporate governance and sectoral reforms are implemented, ensuring financial support is tied to Jadrolinija's long-term sustainability and modernization.

The overall project's development objective aims to improve the operational efficiency and financial sustainability, reduction of the carbon footprint, and introduction of international corporate governance standards of Jadrolinija. The project has two main components:
Component 1 will finance acquisition of green fleet (i.e., six dual-fuel methanol ferries, three 49m electric passenger vessels as well as piloting of efficiency enhancement measures for selected vessels in Jadrolinija's fleet and;
Component 2 will strengthen corporate governance and increasing the efficiency and safety of Jadrolinija. This component supports policy/legal actions for a stronger corporate governance framework for Jadrolinija, and it funds technical assistance to increase the efficiency and safety of the enterprise. It also aims to strengthen corporate governance in Jadrolinija, aligning it with international standards, corporatizing the company as a joint stock company, and revising the PSO framework to favour cleaner vessels.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

Environmental risk is assessed as substantial on precautionary basis, at the Concept stage due to remaining uncertainties. Key environmental risks include, but are not limited to: (i) downstream effects of TAs, such as civil works; (ii) risks related to retrofitting and transport activities, such as hazardous waste generation, the use of chemicals, wastewaters, dust, and risks from explosions and fire, and OHS risks; (iii) risks related to the operational phase, such as air emissions, safety of crew and passengers, fuel spills, etc.

The project’s social risk is classified as moderate at the concept stage, primarily due to the nature of the proposed activities. Some social risks have been identified, particularly concerning labor and working conditions in the shipbuilding supply chain and during operations and maintenance as well as potential implications on service availability particularly in remote islands due to efficiency measures.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Total Project Cost: US$ 270.35 million
IBRD Commitment: US$ 160.72 million

Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Jadrolinija is a Croatian ferry company. It is state-owned and it primarily connects Croatian islands to the mainland by operating regular passenger and cargo transport services.


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

CONTACT POINT - World Bank

Task Team Leader: Gozde Isik
Title: Senior Transport Specialist
Email: gisik@worldbank.org

TTL Contact: Peter Farup Ladegaard
Job Title: Senior Governance Specialist
Email: pladegaard@worldbank.org

TTL Contact: Nadia Badea
Job Title: Senior Infrastructure Specialist
Email: nbadea@worldbank.org

Borrower/Client/Recipient
Jadrolinija
Robert Blazinovic
Acting CEO
robert.blazinovic@jadrolinija.hr

Implementing Agencies
Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure
Damir Sostavic
Director
Damir.Sostaric@mmpi.hr

Jadrolinija
Marko Vukovic
CFO
marko.vukovic@jadrolinija.hr

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

To submit an information request for project information, you will have to create an account to access the Access to Information request form. You can learn more about this process at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/access-to-information/request-submission

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF THE WORLD BANK

The World Bank Inspection Panel is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by a World Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Inspection Panel, they may investigate to assess whether the World Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can contact the Inspection Panel or submit a complaint by emailing ipanel@worldbank.org. Information on how to file a complaint and a complaint request form are available at: https://www.inspectionpanel.org/how-to-file-complaint

How it works

How it works