By selling its claims at the price of 10 million kuna, the government will put an end to its role in "the story of Lenac", Deputy Prime Minister Damir Polancec said on Wednesday.
Tankerska Plovidba and Uljanik will take over state claims amounting to 326 million kuna, with the obligation to invest an additional 58 million kuna in the shipyard's capital stock, Polancec explained.
Finance Ministry State Secretary Ante Zigman said that this move would enable the Rijeka-based company to continue operating, retaining all 650 workers on the payroll.
In addition, Lenac will have commissioned jobs for at least five to ten years.
The two government officials added that trade unions of employees in the Lenac company had supported the government's plan for the shipyard from the very start.
The government's decision will be presented at an assembly of the company's creditors, scheduled for Thursday.
The assembly is expected to adopt a bankruptcy plan which would formally mark the end of the bankruptcy period.
On Wednesday, the Ivo Sanader Cabinet defined a national programme for the financial rehabilitation of the steel industry and plans for the rehabilitation and restructuring of the Split steel plant and the Sisak tube rolling mill.
In this way the government met a condition stemming from the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), Polancec said, adding that European Commission consultants were involved in the compilation of the documents.