CROATIA AND ASTALDI TO BUILD ZAGREB-GORICAN MOTORWAY

( Editorial: --> 9111 ) ZAGREB, Dec 17 (Hina) - An agreement on building a motorway between Zagreb and Gorican (a border crossing to Hungary) was signed on Wednesday between Reconstruction and Development Minister Jure Radic and Jacopo Astaldi, general director of the Italian firm Astaldi. "I am convinced that by the year 2000, as it stands in the agreement, we will finish this section," Minister Radic said following the signing of the agreement. Astaldi said his company would do everything to carry out high- quality work, because it would like to "continue working in Croatia". The final agreement should be concluded within a period of 90 days after the signing of today's agreement, in which it was agreed that the total cost of building the motorway should not exceed 830 million German marks. The Government and Astaldi will form a joint venture in which Croatia will hold a 49 per cent share, while Astaldi and other private bodies will take 51 per cent. (Hina) mm mb 172018 MET dec 97