GRANIC INFORMS GOVT ABOUT TALKS ON CRO-BH BORDER, GOVT ADOPTS REPORT ON CRO RAILWAY

ZAGREB, July 1 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic on Thursday informed a Government session about the completion of activities of an expert group for establishing the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina. Granic said the Bosnian Serb side was expected to confirm the completion of activities by Tuesday, which would mark the end of consultations on all 1,001 kilometres of Croatia's border with Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Government today adopted a report on Croatian Railway (HZ)and discussed a project of its modernisation and restructuring between 1998 and 2002. According to Transport Minister Zeljko Luzavec, the HZ is the system which suffered most direct war damage amounting to about DM309 million. So far, DM155.4 million have been invested in HZ's reconstruction, Luzavec said, adding the whole HZ would be reconstructed by 2002. The reconstruction and development of the HZ, as well as its social programme, will be financed by loans from the World Bank (US$101 million) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (US$35 million). An increase of traffic is the only way out of the situation the HZ is faced with, Luzavec said. He stressed the importance of reactivating the railway line Ljubljana-Zagreb-Belgrade, which before the war covered 50 per cent of railway traffic. The second route is the one running from the port of Ploce (Croatia) to Zenica, Tuzla and Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Luzavec said, stressing also the importance of reactivating the port of Rijeka for boosting traffic. Today's session also adopted a regulation envisaging exemption from customs tariffs for the import of equipment, appliances and vehicles, which have parts which were produced in Croatia. (hina) rml