PM Modi’s Historic Visit To Croatia Spurs 1.1 Billion Euro Indian Bids In Infrastructure Projects: Report

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landmark visit to Croatia in June, his first to the country and the first ever by an Indian PM, has kickstarted significant interest from Indian infrastructure companies in the Balkan region, Financial Express reported.

PM Modi received a ceremonial welcome in Zagreb, where he met his Croatian counterpart, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

According to a statement from India’s Ministry of External Affairs, “Both agreed that India and Croatia enjoy close and friendly relations, rooted in shared values of democracy, rule of law, pluralism and equality.”

Since the visit, Indian firms have made aggressive moves in Croatia’s infrastructure sector.

Afcons Infrastructure Ltd, part of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, submitted the lowest bid, 620 million euros, for a major railway reconstruction project, described as one of the country’s biggest in recent history.

This marks Afcons’ third project bid in a week.

Meanwhile, an Ashoka Buildcon Ltd-led consortium is also pursuing the same railway contract, signalling growing Indian interest.

In total, Indian companies have pushed bids worth over 1.1 billion euros across rail and road-building projects.

However, according to the Financial Express report, Indian firms face stiff competition from established Chinese players.

Afcons is also contending with the state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation for two highway projects in southern Croatia, with bids of 240.5 million euros and 214.4 million euros.

However, Croatia’s deepening economic ties with Beijing present a challenge.

Just this week, Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman met China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing to encourage further Chinese investments, especially in green energy and infrastructure.

Despite China’s entrenched presence, PM Modi’s visit appears to have catalysed stronger India-Croatia ties, particularly in areas like connectivity through the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), and cooperation in maritime trade.

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