DEUTSCHE BANK GRANTS CROATIAN ROADS COMPANY USD150-MILLION LOAN

ZAGREB, Nov 6 (Hina) - The Croatian Roads company (HAC) and Deutsche Bank on Tuesday signed a contract on a USD150-million loan for the construction of the Bosiljevo-Sveti Rok section of the future Bregana-Zagreb-Dubrovnik highway. #L# The loan has been granted with a repayment period of ten years, with a one-off repayment upon the expiry of the period, and a variable interest rate based on the LIBOR rate for the US dollar (the annual interest rate is 4.6%). State guarantees for the loan were signed today by Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac, who said the contract was the first foreign commercial loan granted to the Croatian Roads. The loan will be used for the financing of construction works performed by the US-Turkish consortium Bechtel-Enka on 140.2 kilometres of the highway section running from Bosiljevo to Sveti Rok, including the completion of Bosiljevo-Josipdol and Josipdol- Jezerane sections. The latter section should be opened for traffic by the end of 2003. The loan will not cover the costs of construction works on tunnels on said sections, said HAC director Stanko Kovac. (hina) rml