INTENSE TRAFFIC OVER CROATIAN-MONTENEGRIN BORDER CROSSING

HERCEG NOVI, June 26 (Hina) - So far this year about 76,000 passengers and over 22,700 vehicles, mostly trucks, have passed the border between Montenegro and Croatia at the crossing of Debeli Brijeg. Since the start of the tourist season, the traffic at the border crossing has been intensified as there has been an increasing number of busses and personal cars, a superintendent of a police station in charge of cross-border traffic in the Montenegrin coastal town of Herceg-Novi said on Tuesday. Although the border crossing is still without necessary facilities, police and customs officers work in containers, and the traffic is proceeding on two road lanes, there are no long queues or delays. According to superintendent Jakov Jaramaz, Montenegro and Croatia will soon start building a proper border crossing with all the necessary facilities, which will be financed within the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. The two governments should invest about four million German marks each in this project. Zagreb and Podgorica should soon sign an agreement under which residents of Boka Kotorska (coastal area of Montenegro) and the Dubrovnik-Neretva County area in southernmost Croatia can cross the border with their identity cards and border passes. (hina) sb ms