VIENNA: EUR1.25 BILLION NEEDED FOR CONSTRUCTION OF CRO. MOTORWAYS

VIENNA, Jan 15 (Hina) - A total of EUR1.25 billion will be needed for Croatia's programme of highway construction in the next four years. Of that amount, 30-40 percent would be sought in loans from the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and the German Bank for Reconstruction. The remaining amount would be obtained on the commercial market, a member of the Croatian Motorways management board, Josip Sapunar, told potential investors at a presentation in Vienna Tuesday. The Privredna Banka Zagreb organised today's presentation of investment possibilities in Croatia within a Euromoney conference on investments in Central and Eastern Europe. Informing investors about the construction of Croatian motorways, Sapunar announced international tenders for the financing of the construction of some motorway sections. The first contacts with the investors show banks and institutional investors are very interested, said Sapunar, adding the government's four-year plan provided for the funding for the building of motorways. The board president of the Croatian food company Podravka, Darko Marinac, said the Koprivnica-based company had an annual revenue of more than EUR350 million and was strategically active in Central and Eastern Europe. Podravka has started its own production in some countries, said Marinac, announcing further growth and market expansion. In the past three months Podravka has exceeded its plans on the Yugoslav market, he added. The chief economist of the Privredna Banka Zagreb, Martina Dalic, spoke about Croatia's macro-economic indicators at the presentation, which gathered around 100 investors from numerous countries. (hina) np sb