SVETA NEDJELJA, Oct 20 (Hina) - Croatian President Franjo Tudjman +on Tuesday marked the commencement of works on the first section of +a highway which will connect northwestern and southeastern Croatia +via Bosnia-Herzegovina.+ The
13km-long section extends from Bregana, on the Croatian-+Slovene border, to Zagreb. Some US$71 million will be invested in +the works which should be completed by mid-2000.+ Taking part in the construction are U.S. company Bechtel and +Turkey's Enka, as well as construction companies from Croatia, +which should carry out 70 percent of the works.+ "With this we are affirming Croatia's readiness to invest in +connections with the world, primarily with friendly countries such +as the U.S. and Turkey," President Tudjman said in his address.+ "In peace-time, after the war, Croatia is resolute to head into +building all significant issues of interior development, as well as
SVETA NEDJELJA, Oct 20 (Hina) - Croatian President Franjo Tudjman
on Tuesday marked the commencement of works on the first section of
a highway which will connect northwestern and southeastern Croatia
via Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The 13km-long section extends from Bregana, on the Croatian-
Slovene border, to Zagreb. Some US$71 million will be invested in
the works which should be completed by mid-2000.
Taking part in the construction are U.S. company Bechtel and
Turkey's Enka, as well as construction companies from Croatia,
which should carry out 70 percent of the works.
"With this we are affirming Croatia's readiness to invest in
connections with the world, primarily with friendly countries such
as the U.S. and Turkey," President Tudjman said in his address.
"In peace-time, after the war, Croatia is resolute to head into
building all significant issues of interior development, as well as
into cooperation with the world," he said.
President Tudjman pointed out this project marked Croatia's wish
for connecting with, and not isolating from the world, always on the
bases of common interests and preservation of national
sovereignty.
Bechtel U.S. director Charles Redman recalled the two years spent
in working out the project and expressed his satisfaction that
Bechtel was able to contribute to Croatia's development.
He particularly thanked President Tudjman and Croatia's ministries
for the support in the project.
The construction works will employ more than 1,000 Croatian
workers, and the project is the first major engagement of a U.S.
company in the building of Croatia, Redman said.
He pointed out the project was a symbol of Croatia's success in
achieving fiscal stability and economic progress, as well as of its
ambitious plans.
The project will be the basis for the first long-term loans to
Croatia, Redman said.
U.S. Ambassador William Montgomery also stressed the project's
importance, emphasising it was a contribution to the stability of
Croatian-American relations.
Croatian Premier Zlatko Matesa pointed out to the importance of the
highway in connecting western Europe with Croatia, Bosnia,
Albania, Greece, and Turkey.
Matesa said the presence of foreign companies and international
financial institutions spoke about the openness of Croatian
economy and Croatia's wish to cooperate with neighbours and the
international community.
Emphasising that road-building is a precondition for a country's
wholeness and overall progress, Croatian Roads Administration head
Aleksandar Caklovic recalled that despite the war and the
reconstruction, Croatia had invested a lot in the building and
maintaining of the road network.
He recalled that the Croatian government and Bechtel International
signed a memorandum on understanding in 1996.
The Croatian Roads Administration, Bechtel, and the Enka joint
venture partner signed an agreement on the building of three
sections of the 120km-long and US$600 million-worth Bregana-
Zagreb-Dubrovnik (southern Croatia) highway last April.
The Bregana-Zagreb section is part of the E-70 international route
which, stretching from the Atlantic coastline to the Black Sea,
connects western and central Europe with countries in southeastern
Europe and the Near East.
In the Croatian road network, the Bregana-Zagreb section is part of
the D-4 highway which extends to Slavonski Brod in the east.
Also in attendance today were Turkish Ambassador Dariel Batybaj,
Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic, Reconstruction and
Development Minister Jure Radic, Transport Minister Zeljko
Luzavec, the Croatian President's advisor for interior affairs
Ivic Pasalic, Zagreb Mayor Marina Matulovic-Dropulic, and Zagreb
County Prefect Branimir Pasecky.
(hina) ha jn