ZAGREB'S CENTRAL WASTE DEPOT ADJUSTED TO EUROPEAN STANDARDS

ZAGREB, Sept 13 (Hina) - Works aimed at adjusting Zagreb's central waste depot Jakusevac to European standards were officially completed on Saturday, two days before the deadline. #L# "The reorganisation of waste disposal at Jakusevac is one of the most important investments in Zagreb in the last ten years," said Zdravko Vac, manager of the city's waste management company ZGOS. The project of adjusting the waste depot to European standards cost 55 million euros, which were obtained as a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The reorganisation of waste disposal at the once largest illegal waste depot in this part of Europe started in 1995. Jakusevac is only six kilometres from the city centre and three kilometres from one of the largest water wells in Zagreb. A consultant with the IGH, the company which drew up the project, said that close to eight million cubic metres of waste disposed of at Jakusevac had been transferred to a nearby safe site. The depot can now take another five million cubic metres of waste until 2010, when it will be closed, he said. The project was carried out by the Belgian company Jan de Nul. Zagreb mayor Vlasta Pavic, who attended today's event, announced another eco-project in Zagreb -- the construction of a communal waste incinerator. (hina) rml