RADIC COMMENTS ON SIGNED ANNEX TO AGREEMENT WITH BECHTEL

ZAGREB, May 25 (Hina) - Croatian Reconstruction and Development minister Jure Radic on Tuesday told reporters about changes after Monday's signing of an annex to the agreement with the American corporation Bechtel on the construction of the Bregana - Zagreb - Dubrovnik highway. Instead through Bosnia-Herzegovina, the road running to the southernmost part of Croatia will run exclusively through the country. Instead of constructing the Sisak (50km Southeast of Zagreb) - Bosnia-Herzegovina border road, the road will be constructed through central Croatia's region of Lika, 135km long. This section should be completed by the year 2004. The annex committed Bechtel to ensure a loan to the Croatian Government worth US$990 million, instead of the previously agreed on 600 million. this will be an American export loan or commercial loan, Radic said. he stressed the loan would be granted with a five per cent interest, which is two per cent points less than of the interest rate would be encompassed by last year's agreement. An agreement was also reached in the change of pace of construction of the Zagreb - Sisak road, whose works should be completed between 2003 and 2005, after the completion of the Lika section. This will all depend on the completion of the entire transport study and a Zagreb airport study, as the section of the highway should run along the airport and will connect Zagreb with the airport. The annex to the agreement will become effective as soon as it is ratified by the Croatian Government. Seventy per cent of the contractors must be from Croatia, though. Radic also said bids for the construction of the Zadar - Split section (central Adriatic) has ended and contractors (Austrian - Italian and Croatian consortium) with whom negotiations are in course on details of the agreement. The Dynamics of construction should be almost identical, that is, the Zagreb - Split highway should be finalised by 24004. (hina) lml jn