ZAGREB, Jan 26 (Hina) - The Croatian National Sabor's House of Counties on Tuesday debated Croatia's transport development strategy, presented by Croatian Transport Minister Zeljko Luzavac. With a six percent annual increase of the
Gross National Product (GNP) and an earmarking rate of five percent for transport, Croatia could invest US$19,9 billion in the system by 2010. Forty percent of the planned earmarking would be granted to roads, 25 percent to railways, 20 percent to maritime transport, ten percent to cargo transport, and five percent to air traffic, Luzavec said. The strategy envisages the building of 400km of new roads by 2005, and 557km by 2013. Luzavec said Croatia needed 900km of new roads. Along with funds from the state budget, finances should be sought from abroad, through concessions and favourable loans. According to Luzavec, the priority is the Rijeka-Karlovac-Zagreb-Varazdin-Gorican r
ZAGREB, Jan 26 (Hina) - The Croatian National Sabor's House of
Counties on Tuesday debated Croatia's transport development
strategy, presented by Croatian Transport Minister Zeljko
Luzavac.
With a six percent annual increase of the Gross National Product
(GNP) and an earmarking rate of five percent for transport, Croatia
could invest US$19,9 billion in the system by 2010.
Forty percent of the planned earmarking would be granted to roads,
25 percent to railways, 20 percent to maritime transport, ten
percent to cargo transport, and five percent to air traffic,
Luzavec said.
The strategy envisages the building of 400km of new roads by 2005,
and 557km by 2013. Luzavec said Croatia needed 900km of new roads.
Along with funds from the state budget, finances should be sought
from abroad, through concessions and favourable loans.
According to Luzavec, the priority is the Rijeka-Karlovac-Zagreb-
Varazdin-Gorican road which is currently being constructed.
For the connection between the central Croatian region of Lika and
Dalmatia in the south, Luzavec proposed several ideas on routes
through Lika and across Bosnia.
A connection linking Croatia's south and north can no longer wait,
therefore the current road through Lika should actively be invested
in, Luzavec stressed.
Other priorities were the Posavina-Zagorje, Adriatic, and
Slavonija-Neretva directions, he added.
The representatives agreed a transport strategy should be made, but
noted the priorities were unclear. Not all five directions can be
priority ones, Ivan Ninic of the Social Democratic Party said.
The Upper House representatives warned that Croatia's north and
south should be connected.
The strategy prioritises road transport, while the transport route
of the future, the railway, was secondary, said Tereza Ganza-Aras
the Liberal Party.
(hina) it/ha jn