The company was given permission from the relevant ministry and has the construction permit, so there is no reason to discontinue construction works despite protests from environmental associations, Stentoft said.
Environmental organisations held a protest rally in Pican on January 27, demanding that construction works on the plant be stopped. They said that some 6,500 citizens had signed a petition against the plant and that a referendum should be called to decide on the matter.
Company officials recalled that Rockwool Adriatic, together with the Croatian agency for the promotion of investment and import, had in 2005 chosen the business zone Pican as the optimal location for its new plant and that construction works started in August 2006, 13 months after a study on the environmental impact of the project was completed and all necessary permits were obtained.
Construction works are proceeding as planned and production is expected to start in September this year, Stentoft said.
Since all raw materials will be processed into rock wool and bricks, the plant will practically produce no waste, said company spokesman Paolo Guanzani.
The head of the company's quality and ecology department, Neven Vlacic, said that plant emissions would not be harmful for the health of local residents and that the company would continue monitoring the quality of soil on several nearby locations.
The Danish group Rockwool, whose companies operate throughout the world, is the largest producer of noncombustible, environmentally safe, insulation rock wool used in construction, industry and power production.