CONTRACT ON FINANCING CONSTRUCTION OF HIGHWAY SECTION IN ISTRIA SIGNED

SIGNED ZAGREB, 18 Sept (Hina) - An agreement on changes to the agreement on the concession to build a motorway along the Adriatic coast in Istria (the so-called Istria Y) was signed in the Ministry of Traffic in Zagreb on Thursday. The signed agreement secures the inflow of capital needed for the construction of a 35.5-km-long section of Istria Y and the beginning of construction. The concession to build the 141.4-km-long motorway through Istria to the Croatian-Slovene border on the river Dragonja was granted in 1995 to the company 'Bina-Istra'. 'Bina-Istra' d.d. general director Arnaud de la Chaise announced at the signing ceremony that construction works on the first section of the motorway Bale-Vodnjan would start in November. A DM-230,000 loan for the construction of the first section will be secured by one of the largest Swiss banks - Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) and four Croatian banks. (hina) jn rm 182133 MET sep 97