CONTRACT ON CONSTRUCTION OF SVETI ROK-SPLIT HIGHWAY SECTION SIGNED

ZADAR, Nov 15 (Hina) - An agreement on the financing and construction of a highway section from Sveti Rok to Split (southern Croatia) was signed in Zadar on Monday in the presence of Croatian Premier Zlatko Matesa. The contract was signed by Vice Premier Jure Radic, on behalf of the Croatian Government and a Croatian consortium which will participate in construction works, Zeljko Zderic of the Split company "Konstruktor", and Guenter Reiter of the Austrian company "Strabag", who signed the contract on behalf of an Austrian-Italian consortium which is to construct the highway section. After the signing ceremony, Radic said the Government now had a contract for the construction of the whole highway starting from Zagreb. The Sveti Rok-Split section, whose construction was agreed on today, will cost four billion and 370 million kuna (about US$560 million). The Austrian-Italian consortium, which comprises two Austrian and an Italian company, will provide funds for the construction of the highway, land purchase, supervision, taxes and fees, said Radic. According to Radic, the Austrian-Italian consortium and the Croatian consortium, which includes three Croatian construction companies, offered the most favourable conditions in a public bid. The work is divided equally between the foreign and domestic partners and the completion deadline for the section is December 2004. This is part of a large infrastructure project of the Zagreb- Dubrovnik highway, but also of the Adriatic-Ionian road running toward Greece, said Radic. Premier Matesa said that the signing of the contract completes the largest infrastructure project in Croatia and that "the Zagreb- Dubrovnik highway is a factor of political and economic integration of all Croatian regions". Matesa added today's agreement was a proof of the successful cooperation between Austria and Croatia assessing the highway would considerably contribute to the development of tourism. The representative for the Austrian-Italian consortium, Guenter Reiter, said the deadlines would be observed and the consortium, which he headed, would most certainly cover the construction costs. (hina) jn rml