Croatia's busiest resort airport is at the centre of what Dubrovnik's own mayor calls the country's biggest corruption affair involving European money — and it involves fuel pipes allegedly fit for sewage, not aviation.
Ruđer Bošković Airport, the gateway to Dubrovnik, has been forced to hand back around €22 million in EU grants after investigators flagged irregularities in public procurement during a huge modernisation project that ran from 2013 to 2017. Roughly €200 million of EU money had been secured for the overhaul, but flawed tender procedures meant chunks of it had to be repaid, with a further €3 million instalment recently falling due. Airport director Viktor Šober says the repayments hit operations hard: the airport either returned funds voluntarily or had them clawed back automatically, forcing it to take out loans to plug the gaps.
The strangest detail concerns the aircraft fuel supply system. It was paid for in full, but has sat unused for years because of what the airport describes as flawed design and construction. Marina Bukvić from the airport says plastic and glass piping was installed — the sort used for sewage systems, not for pumping jet fuel. A German engineering firm was brought in to assess whether the system could be salvaged, and concluded that several million euros more would be needed to make it work. In short, the airport bought infrastructure it cannot use, and fixing it would mean spending even more. Šober has not ruled out legal action, saying 'difficult talks' lie ahead.
Political fallout is mounting. Mayor Mato Franković, of the ruling HDZ, told a parliamentary Transport Committee session that the total damage makes this the largest EU-money corruption affair in Croatia that nobody is talking about. He directed his criticism at Roko Tolić, who ran the airport from 2009 until his dismissal in 2018 over procurement irregularities. In a twist that has raised eyebrows, Tolić has since moved on to a senior role at Aerodromi Crne Gore, the company running Montenegro's Podgorica and Tivat airports — meaning the man at the centre of the affair now helps run the airports of a country hoping to join the EU. Tolić has declined to comment.
Whether anyone faces criminal charges remains open: Croatia's Dnevnik.hr contacted the European Public Prosecutor's Office to ask if an investigation is underway and has yet to receive an answer.
For travellers, the practical impact so far is limited — flights to Dubrovnik operate normally, and the fuel system issue has not disrupted services. But the story matters if you're planning a trip to Croatia's southern coast: this is the airport that handles the summer influx to the Old Town, and years of financial strain and mismanagement at such a key hub are worth watching. It's also a cautionary tale about how EU tourism and infrastructure money can go astray, even in one of Europe's most visited destinations. Thanks to Total Croatia for the original reporting.
