Of the total loan amount, EUR 7 million was granted as a direct loan, while EUR 10.5 million was an intermediated loan which ZLD would receive through the HBOR. This was the first tranche of a EUR 32.5 million loan for the Dubrovnik Airport development project.
ZLD CEO Roko Tolic said that the contracts marked a large step forward towards a functional airport in Croatia's south which is already now a catalyst for economic growth because of tourism as a dominant industry in that area. He said that the airport building was expected to be ready for the 2017 summer season.
Regional Development and EU Funds Minister Branko Grcic said he was certain that another major project would run in parallel with this one, namely the construction of the Peljesac bridge, which would solve the problem of connecting the southernmost part of Croatia with the rest of the country.
Grcic said that the very amount of investment in the ZLD project of nearly EUR 250 million put it among the largest projects in Croatia, adding that over 70% of funding would come from the EU. Noting that the present government had also ensured that in all programme documents 300 million euros was set aside for the Peljesac bridge, he said that never in the history of Croatia was so much money being invested in the country's south.
EIB Vice-President Dario Scannapieco said that this was the first loan which the EIB had granted to a Croatian corporate entity, adding that it relied on the company's collateral and was not backed by a state guarantee.
The total value of the Dubrovnik Airport development project is EUR 246 million, of which EUR 158 million is expected to be provided by the EU. The remaining amount of EUR 88 million will be secured by ZLD; a part of it will come from the company's own resources and a part will be secured through a loan.
The Dubrovnik Airport development project is the first Croatian project for which co-financing has been approved under an EU investment plan known as the Juncker Plan.