CROATIAN GOVT DISCUSSES HOUSING RECONSTRUCTION IN DANUBE REGION

ZAGREB, Sept 4 (Hina) - The Croatian government held a closed- door session on Thursday at which it passed a decision on the reconstruction of family houses and apartments of damage categories 1-3 in the UN-administered Danube river region. The government authorised the Ministry of Reconstruction and Development to carry out that decision and to provide financial aid to returnees, regardless of the degree of damage to their houses, for purchasing necessary furniture and other household items, the government's communications office said in a statement. The government set October 15 as a deadline for submitting requests for the reconstruction of buildings destroyed or damaged during the war in the region. It drafted a proposal for establishing a Consulate General in Banja Luka, northwestern Bosnia-Herzegovina, which will be sent to the President of the Republic for consideration. About 124,450 Croats lived in the Banja Luka area according to the 1991 population census. At the proposal of the Economy Ministry, the government provided its guarantees to shipyards in Split and Kraljevica for the construction of 12 multi-purpose ships for the company Fort Da Venezuela Line C.A. of Caracas, Venezuela. (hina) vm jn 041653 MET sep 97