ZAGREB, Feb 27 (Hina) - From 2004 to 2008 Croatia should secure seven percent of its Gross Domestic Product, namely two billion euros annually, for investments, said Ante Babic, State Secretary of the National Development Strategy
Office, on Friday.
ZAGREB, Feb 27 (Hina) - From 2004 to 2008 Croatia should secure seven
percent of its Gross Domestic Product, namely two billion euros
annually, for investments, said Ante Babic, State Secretary of the
National Development Strategy Office, on Friday.#L#
At an award-giving ceremony for the best Croatian entrepreneurs and
managers, Babic said a national development plan would be adopted by
the end of this year. Present at the event organised by the Business
Research Institute was also a former Irish premier, Garret FitzGerald,
during whose term of office Ireland began its strong economic
development.
Speaking of plans for strengthening the entrepreneurship, Babic
announced that the Croatian Postal Bank (Hrvatska Postanska Banka)
would be transformed into a bank for small and medium-sized
entrepreneurs.
In addition, a task force was established whose job is to decrease
barriers which small and medium-sized businessmen often met in their
job. The agency for stimulating exports and investments is to become a
'one-stop-shop', and there are plans for establishing regional
agencies for development of Istria and Dalmatia, Slavonia and central
Croatia as well as similar centres in the main cities, namely Zagreb,
Split, Rijeka and Osijek.
There will be incentive measures for agriculture, food-processing
industry and the strengthening of timber and wood-processing cluster,
the establishment of a garment-making cluster, the consolidation of
metal processing plants, the restructuring of the ship building
sector, etc.
Babic said the highways would be constructed, airports renovated, and
new airports on the islands of Hvar and Brac would be also built. The
investments in the railway network wil continue but at a slower pace,
he added.
(Hina) ms sb