VARAZDIN-CAKOVEC SECTION OF ZAGREB-GORICAN HIGHWAY OPENED

( Editorial: --> 9670 ) VARAZDIN, July 24 (Hina) - A 15.6km-long section of a future highway between Zagreb and Gorican, on Croatia's border with Hungary, was opened on Friday. The section between the towns of Varazdin and Cakovec, northern Croatia, was opened for traffic by Ivica Mindjek, war commander of the Stork unit from Varazdin. Also attending were Croatian Premier Zlatko Matesa and other representatives of state and local authorities. The investor in this US$90 million-worth project is Croatian Roads Administration. The future highway from the Hungarian border to Zagreb and Rijeka, a port on the northern Adriatic, will provide a better political and transport connection among Croatia's central, continental and coastal regions, said Premier Matesa. He thanked the Varazdin County prefect for supporting the building of the highway and commended the contractors who, Matesa said, proved they were capable of meeting the deadlines and quality on a European level. We can count on them in the future as well, he said. The Premier especially commended the Croatian army for outstanding support. The Varazdin-Cakovec section is part of a pan-European corridor from the Baltic to the Adriatic. According to Transport Minister Zeljko Luzavec, it provides the fullest integration into Europe. Roads are the strongest logistics to Croatian tourism, he emphasised, recalling the sections built on that corridor so far shortened travelling for more than one hour. Thirty-three km of highway have been built between Varazdin and Gorican so far, some 30km between Zagreb and Varazdin and 90km from Zagreb to Rijeka, said Luzavec. He recalled that 20km on the Zagreb-Varazdin road were improved, with a US$8.5 million loan of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This road will be completed by the year 2000, Luzavec said. (hina) ha jn 241640 MET jul 98