History

Organised road maintenance services in Zagreb have existed for 70 years.

Company Cestogradnja (“Road Construction”), a city-owned road construction company in Zagreb, was established in 1947 with 800 employees. 

In 1952, the City of Zagreb established the budget institution Cesta (”Road”), which took over all services previously handled by Cestogradnja. Maintenance and cleanup of public traffic areas in the City of Zagreb was its core business. The municipal company Čistoća (”City Waste Disposal”) spun off from Cesta in 1961.  As of 1964, the Management of the Winter Road Maintenance Department operated as a part of Cesta, and the first comprehensive snow clearance plan was made for the City of Zagreb. Organised maintenance and record-keeping of traffic signals was introduced in 1965.

In 1977, several civil engineering companies in the City of Zagreb merged into Cestogradnja (”Road Construction”), a road construction and maintenance company with 2,400 employees. This large company was transformed gradually, spinning off the businesses that offered commercial services. It was eventually renamed Cesta-Zagreb, in which capacity it organised  the maintenance, management and protection of roads in the City of Zagreb.

By virtue of decision of the Zagreb City Assembly enacted on 28 December 1990, Cesta-Zagreb became Javno poduzeće Zagrebačke ceste (“Public Company Zagreb Roads”), a City of Zagreb company for road and street maintenance, and started performing services of special social interest for the City of Zagreb, mainly the maintenance, management and protection of regional and local roads and city streets.

In 2006, Zagreb Roads were merged with Gradsko komunalno gospodarstvo (”City Utility Company Ltd.”), which set up the subsidiary Zagrebačke ceste (”Zagreb Roads”). City Utility Company Ltd. was renamed Zagrebački holding d.o.o. (”Zagreb Holding Ltd.”) in 2007.

For all these years, from the original company Road Construction to Zagreb Roads as a subsidiary of Zagreb Holding, Zagreb Roads grew and developed with the City of Zagreb as its constituent and essential part.