PREKLOP 2.0: Regionalisation and added value in Maribor

MARIBOR — The Institute for Strategic Solutions (ISR), together with the public agency SPIRIT Slovenia and the Ministry of the Economy, Labour and Sport, and in cooperation with the City of Maribor, today hosted the business forum Preklop 2.0: Regionalising Development and Creating Added Value in Maribor at Vetrinjski dvor. The discussion focused on concrete projects, ranging from waste-to-energy in Maribor and JEK 2 to solar power plants on brownfield sites and the development of Maribor as an inland logistics hub serving the Port of Koper. A common thread throughout the discussion was the length of planning procedures, the time required to obtain permits and the shortage of suitably prepared land.

ISR Director Tine Kračun opened the forum by drawing attention to Podravje's development gap. Gross value added per employee in the region stood at €51,860 in 2024, compared with a Slovenian average of €63,780, while Podravje has ranked in the lower half of Slovenian regions by GDP per capita for the past two decades. Saša Arsenovič, Mayor of Maribor, likewise stressed the need to make better use of the region's development potential. "Maribor still generates less added value, but these indicators are improving," he said, pointing to the city's transport connections and the development of logistics and energy infrastructure as drivers of further economic growth.

Marko Dvornik, State Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, placed the discussion in the broader context of energy policy, arguing that energy is no longer merely a question of security of supply but also of economic resilience and national development. Decarbonisation, secure supplies and competitive energy prices will, he said, require the modernisation of the electricity system and a combination of different low-carbon sources, including nuclear and hydropower, while respecting the principle of technological neutrality.

The cost of delaying infrastructure decisions was then addressed by Dr Jure Stojan, Partner and Director of Research and Development at ISR. Looking back to periods when Maribor built infrastructure ahead of others, from harnessing the Drava and developing the railway to constructing its first hydroelectric power stations, he warned that the region is now falling behind. Eastern Slovenia ranked 160th in the Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2025, compared with 80th place for Western Slovenia. Between 2023 and 2025, Eastern Slovenia's score fell by 0.5 points, while Western Slovenia's rose by seven.

A similar pattern is evident nationally. In the World Economic Forum's Energy Transition Index, Slovenia fell from 22nd to 28th place this year. Its largest decline was in transition readiness, where its score fell from 59.0 to 55.7 points, while its system performance score remained unchanged at 69.7.

"We need vision and courage. Without them, we will not succeed."

Andrej Tumpej, Director General of Dravske elektrarne Maribor, said energy investments above all require a stable investment and regulatory environment. New generation facilities, particularly solar and wind farms, present a particular challenge because of their spatial footprint and the large areas of land they require. He pointed to brownfield sites that cannot be used for other activities as one potential solution. "That is why we have launched a project for a 10 MW solar power plant on a closed landfill," he said, adding that such a project could serve as a model for similar investments elsewhere, rather than placing solar farms on agricultural land.

Andrej Lasič, Member of the Management Board of NLB, argued that the problem extends beyond spatial planning to a lack of appetite for major infrastructure investments. "Most of the energy projects we currently finance are abroad, while the last major energy project in Slovenia was the Brežice hydroelectric power plant around 13 years ago," he said. Slovenia's relatively low level of investment is also reflected, in his view, in the indebtedness of the country's energy sector, which stands at less than one times EBITDA, compared with a typical ratio of between three and four times EBITDA abroad.

Who will build the next generation of energy capacity?

Among the projects with the clearest timetable is the waste-to-energy project in Maribor. Estimated to cost between €80 million and €100 million, the facility would represent the largest investment in the municipality's history. It would cover more than 60% of the annual heat demand of Maribor's district heating system and make a significant contribution to addressing the problem of non-recyclable residual waste from Eastern Slovenia, Koroška and Prekmurje. The plant is expected to have a capacity of approximately 50,000 tonnes of waste a year. Jože Hebar, Director of Energetika Maribor, noted that the government decree and the award of a concession are among the key requirements for the project to proceed.

Danijel Levičar, Nuclear Technology Adviser at GEN energija, then turned to JEK 2, which is also in the preparatory phase. He stressed that it is a national strategic project included in Slovenia's climate and energy strategy, with analyses and spatial-planning procedures currently under way. A final investment decision is expected by 2028, while construction is planned to begin in 2032 with the pouring of the first nuclear concrete. "In the local area, the project has the support of between 80% and 85% of residents, around 15 percentage points more than at national level," Levičar said.

Dr Tomaž Vuk, Chairman of the Management Board of Alpacem Cement, presented Project Aurora, the largest investment in the company's history, which includes the construction of a solar power plant on a disused section of a quarry. All of the electricity generated will be consumed directly by the cement plant and, once completed, is expected to cover around 15% of its electricity needs. "By developing our own generation capacity, we want to reduce our dependence on the external grid and place less strain on it, while greater flexibility will allow us to limit the impact of volatility in energy markets and secure more predictable electricity prices," he said.

Maribor as the logistics hinterland of the Port of Koper

The second part of the forum examined how Slovenia could capture a greater share of the value generated by goods flows crossing its territory. Professor Dr Aleš Groznik of the University of Ljubljana's School of Economics and Business opened the discussion with an overview of the main challenges facing Slovenian logistics. Transport and warehousing account for between 5% and 6% of Slovenia's gross value added, above the European Union average, while freight volumes are growing rapidly. The Port of Koper handled 86,679 container units in 2000; last year, the figure reached 1.27 million.

The greatest added value is generated where terminals and related services are concentrated. Last year, the Port of Koper generated revenues of €376.1 million and an operating margin of 25.2%, while neighbouring rail-freight operators mostly operate at a loss. Slovenia has an advantageous geostrategic position and the necessary infrastructure, but its development is constrained by lengthy spatial-planning and permitting procedures. The second railway track, for example, was already envisaged in the 1996 national railway infrastructure development programme.

Borut Čok, Head of Strategic Development at the Port of Koper, noted that the port already makes use of logistics capacity in its hinterland, including Cargo Center Graz, and therefore sees scope for the development of a logistics hub in Maribor. The city's advantages include its proximity to road and rail corridors, as well as land that is relatively quick to make available and cost-effective. The completion of the second track is expected to remove one of the main bottlenecks outside the port and provide fresh impetus for development, while the Port of Koper has in recent years accelerated investment in additional capacity.

Čok also warned that lengthy spatial-planning and permitting procedures are holding Slovenia back in the competition for investment. Countries such as the Czech Republic and Hungary, he said, have a better understanding of the importance of speed and predictability in these procedures and therefore often have an advantage when competing for new investments.

Without faster decisions, investors will go elsewhere

Ivana Vrviščar, Member of the Management Board of Pošta Slovenije, warned that logistics flows could begin to bypass Slovenia if the country fails to keep pace with competing hubs in neighbouring countries, including the terminal in Villach. Global logistics customers, she said, are increasingly looking for providers capable of taking responsibility for the entire logistics chain, ensuring traceability throughout and acting as a single point of entry. "If we remain confined to the final part of the value chain, which is also the most exposed to price fluctuations, we will not be able to provide the economy with the impetus for further development."

Dr Peter Verlič, Director of the Ljubljana Transport Institute at Slovenian Railways, stressed that the main requirements of Slovenia's logistics sector are already largely understood and that the next step is implementation. Projects such as the redevelopment of the Ljubljana railway junction will remove some existing bottlenecks, but similar investments will have to be pursued systematically elsewhere across the network. "We know what needs to be done. What we need above all are decisions and funding," he said, noting that European funding is also available for some of these projects.

Tamara Zajec Balažič, Director of SPIRIT Slovenia, concluded the discussion from the perspective of attracting foreign investment. Logistics infrastructure, she said, is one of the key factors shaping investors' decisions, while Slovenia enjoys an important competitive advantage through the Port of Koper and its access to the European market. A greater obstacle is the lack of a long-term vision and suitably prepared locations for new investments. "We do not have enough sites where an investor knows in advance what can be built, which procedures they will have to go through and how long those procedures will take," she warned.

Countries with faster and more predictable procedures therefore enjoy a marked competitive advantage when competing for greenfield investment. She also stressed that attracting investors is not solely a question of logistics projects, since logistics forms part of a wider industrial ecosystem. Slovenia, she said, can offer foreign investors a strong industrial tradition, a skilled workforce, a high level of technological development and access to the European market. "We have the vision. What we still need is the courage to actually make things happen," she said, adding that Slovenia has already demonstrated that strategically important projects can be delivered within a year when ministries work together effectively.