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For the first time in the 63-year history of the company, Hidroelektra, a Zagreb-based construction company, is sending their workers on holidays in the midst of the construction season.

Although they claim these are not collective holidays, since they will still hold certain smaller construction sites operational, most of the 2,000 employees will not work from July 20 until the end of August. Since the Croatian Motorways and Croatian Roads did not fulfill their financial obligations toward Hidroelektra, they decided it is more profitable to discontinue their construction works and force workers to take holidays. Hidroelektra is the sixth-largest construction company in Croatia and these kinds of decisions tell a story of a large problem of illiquidity in Croatia. Only two months ago their stock trading consistently ended with positive trade blockages, due to overtrading, because of the regular news of numerous new contracts.From the end of April to the end of May, in a consortium with other construction companies, Hidroelektra signed all the most important road construction contracts in Croatia, initiated by the Government before the local elections. These contracts worth 5 billion kunas (VAT included) were for work on the highway section Dubrovnik-Doli, the Podravka Y semi-motorway, the Vc Motorway Corridor, the Zagreb-Sisak motorway, and the Slatina bypass. Aside from these projects, Hidroelektra is also involved in the construction of Pelješac Bridge. All of these works will be on hold until the after the holidays. The work on the bridge across the river Rječina on Rijeka bypass, construction of a tunnel toward Dubrovnik that is almost finished, and smaller jobs in Zagreb will continue. We sought an explanation from the management, but their general manager, Mr. Rade Pilipović, gave us a message through his secretary that he had no comment. Mrs. Jasenka Vukušić, the general secretary of the Union of construction workers, confirmed the information regarding the workers going on holidays. This Hidroelektra decision is just an intro to similar moves to be taken by large construction companies doing business with the state.