ANOTHER 1 600 FAMILIES EXPECTED TO RETURN TO VUKOVAR BY CHRISTMAS

( Editorial: --> 8063 ) VUKOVAR, Oct 13 (Hina) - This year's plan for reconstruction is ahead of schedule, and conditions for the return of another 1,600 displaced families to the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar will be created by Christmas, Croatian Reconstruction and Development Minister, Jure Radic, said in Vukovar on Tuesday. Out of the 143,000 war-damaged housing facilities in Croatia, 80,000 have been reconstructed. The state will have to set aside about US$2.5 billion for the reconstruction of the remaining 60,000 homes, Radic said. If this money can only be set aside from the government budget, reconstruction will last for another five years, he stressed. Croatia is hoping a donors' conference for reconstruction and development will take place by the end of the year. Vukovar-Srijem County Prefect Rudolf Koenig said illegal occupying of homes was one of the biggest problems in the county. "At the moment, about 30 per cent of Vukovar's flats are illegally occupied, and we still do not have the means to evict those who have occupied them," Koenig said. Another problem was that the contracts signed by the Reconstruction and Development Ministry and contractors do not include the joining of newly reconstructed homes to the utilities infrastructure, so many returnee families are left without electricity, water and the sewage system, Koenig said. he said he had received 18,873 applications for the reconstruction of homes. His office has issued 5,320 licences for the start of reconstruction. (hina) lml jn 131759 MET oct 98