RECONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT MINISTER RECEIVES BECHTEL REPS

( Editorial: --> 0391 ) ZAGREB, Sept 4 (Hina) - The building of the first section of the motorway from Bregana in northern Croatia to the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina will start in October, since all the preparations for a physical start to construction have been completed. This was the conclusion reached at a meeting in Zagreb on Monday between Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Reconstruction and Development Minister Jure Radic and the vice-presidents of the American construction firm Bechtel. The Minister and Bechtel's vice-presidents, Redman and Marshall, concluded that the project, financial and other preparations for the commencing of construction of the 120km-long motorway are almost finished, said a statement issued by the Croatian Reconstruction and Development Ministry. It has been agreed that the construction of the Bregana-Zagreb section will begin during the second half of October this year, the statement said. Croatian and American representatives have executed very precise preparations for the beginning of construction. Its value amounts to more than $600 million, and it is at the same time the first section of the future Zagreb-Dubrovnik motorway. A significant portion of the motorway passes through Bosnia- Herzegovina, which will be a subject of further negotiations by the partners as part of the trilateral agreement signed in Dubrovnik in 1996, the statement said. (Hina) jfk /mbr 142232 MET sep 98