STARA GRADISKA-BOSANSKA GRADISKA BORDER PASS CLOSES DUE TO BRIDGE RECONSTRUCTION

STARA GRADISKA, May 24 (Hina) - The bridge at the border crossing between Stara Gradiska (Croatia) and Bosanska Gradiska (Bosnia- Herzegovina) has been closed for traffic since Monday morning due to the reconstruction. The traffic from Croatia to Bosnia in this area has been redirected over the bridge between Dvor (Croatia) and Bosanski Novi (Bosnia) across the Una river which opened two days ago. The Dvor-Bosanski Novi international crossing (some 100 kilometres south of Zagreb) is temporary and will have been used until the completion of the reconstruction of the bridge between Stara Gradiska (100 kilometres south-east of Zagreb) and Bosanska Gradiska across the Sava river. After the European Union invited tenders for a firm which will conduct the repair works, Croatia's company "Djuro Djakovic Inzenjering" was selected for the main contractor. Djuro Djakovic representatives and European Union officials signed a contract on the bridge reconstruction, in Sarajevo this February. According to a director in the Croatian firm, Djuro Djakovic was informed on 10 March that the contract had come into effect. However, Croatian workers can begin the reconstruction after Hungarian SFOR troops remove the Maybi-Jonson construction with which they managed three years ago to put the bridge into function. It will take more than ten days for Hungarian technicians to do this job. The value of the reconstruction is 1.162 million euro (2.278 million German marks). Bjelobrk, the director in Djuro Djakovic, said the international border crossing at Stara Gradiska should reopen before Christmas. At the Croatia side of the border pass (on the left bank of the Sava) the extension and renovation of the border crossing will be soon completed. There will be a total of ten main lines for the passage. The border crossing along with all necessary facilities covers 31,000 square metres at the Croatian side. This investment, financed by the Croatian Finance Ministry, has been 13.8 million kuna (about 3.5 million German marks), and works are being done by the Zagreb-based "Stridon Inzenjering" company. (hina) ms