PULA MAYOR PREFERS LOCAL COMPANY FOR GAS NETWORK CONSTRUCTION

PULA, August 9 (Hina) - Pula Mayor Luciano Delbianco at a press conference on Friday announced that he would not accept a contract with "Montcogim" - an Italian-Croatian company - that the Istria County selected at a public tender as the best offer for introduction of gas lines through Istria. #L# Mayor Delbianco said that he was aware that the Pula city administration would face political pressure because of such a decision which still needs to be confirmed by the City Council Nevertheless, Delbianco added that he believed that the job would best be conducted by a company owned by the city itself, i.e. the Pula "Plinara" Utilities Company. Delbianco explained to journalists that following a recent meeting with the most responsible people in Ina - with 49 per cent ownership in "Plinara" - re-capitalisation was agreed to which, according to Delbianco, would enable the company to function more efficiently in the future and appear on the market. Delbianco said that an agreement on injection of fresh capital into "Plinara" was soon to be signed with Ina (the national oil company) so that all real estate would be transferred to the company which is now mostly owned by Ina or the City of Pula. This will then make it a company that won't operate at a loss and once sea gas reached Pula through the northern Adriatic, it could win a concession to spread the gas network, not only to Pula but all of Istria, Delbianco stressed. (hina) sp ms