The World Bank officials were speaking at a news conference in Rijeka which they visit every six months to inspect the project for which the World Bank has granted a USD 156 million loan. Around USD 100 million is intended for the reconstruction and construction of roads leading to the port and around 50 million for the upgrading of the port.
The head of the Rijeka Port Authority, Bojan Hlaca, said that works on port facilities had been intensified after the closure of international bidding procedures.
Of the World Bank loan, 17 million has been spent for the modernisation of the port and agreement has been reached on contracts worth 39.5 million.
Another USD 7.5 million of state money has been invested in the modernisation of the port.
In the first two months of this year 2.4 million tonnes of cargo was reloaded in the port, a 35 percent increase in relation to the same period last year, Hlaca said.
Commenting on those results, World Bank manager for RGP Michel Audige said they confirmed that RPG was economically viable.
Asked whether RGP would be expanded to include a road linking the port with the Rijeka ring road that would be built until 2009, Audige said that talks with the government on the matter were under way.