The Kupa-Korana relief channel will additionally reduce possible consequences of flooding, and the latest weather reports indicate that the situation will not be half as dramatic as last year and that the water level of the Kupa river will be a meter lower than the huge floods that occurred then, Minister Jakovina told reporters at the construction site where heavy machinery was in full swing.
According to forecasts, the maximum water level of the Kupa on Friday will be +748 centimetres and +733 centimetres for the Korana river, while last year's levels were +844 centimetres and + 845 centimetres respectively.
Asked by reporters whether works on the channel had been left to the last moment, Jakovina said that over the past four years around HRK 105 million had been invested in Karlovac County for flood protection projects and almost HRK 3.5 billion around the country. "These works are a continuation of work on the Mekusje embankment which was completed this summer. There's no need to create panic and try to score cheap political points in the election campaign about something that is regular business in poor weather conditions. The works are expected to be completed in four years time and will permanently protect Karlovac from floods," he said.
He added that in addition to the 4,000 kilometres of existing embankments, new ones will be constructed and that 35 large projects around Croatia had been defined for the period until 2022, including 25 kilometres of new embankments around Karlovac.
Plisic added that the 4.3 kilometre embankment in Mekusje would add some relief from flooding and that the long-term aim was to complete the Karlovac flood defence system to protect the city's outskirts which are still unprotected, he said.
Plisic underscored that the incumbent government has secured grants from European funds for this purpose amounting to around HRK 3 billion over the next seven years, of which HRK 350 million would be allocated for Karlovac.