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Croatia's roads will be improved by loan from EBRD
A loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will enable Croatia to complete a major road between Zagreb and the Adriatic Coast as well as carry out road improvement works on high priority routes, thus greatly improving its roads network.
The loan of DM 70.9 million (ECU 36.5 million) was signed today in London by Mr Jacques de Larosière, President of the EBRD, and Dr Ante Cicin-Sain, the Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to the United Kingdom.
Mr de Larosière said: "The EBRD is pleased to provide support for the road sector at a critical point in the development of Croatia, when the network is having to adapt to radically changed traffic and maintenance conditions from the break-up of the Yugoslav Federation and privatisation of Croatia's economy. The project will help improve cost recovery from road users by implementing a revised system of road user charges. It will also foster commercialisation of motorway operations, thereby opening up opportunities at a later stage for private sector financing of Croatia's roads."
The project is part of a larger programme of support to the road sector which is co-financed by the EBRD and the World Bank. It is designed to provide support to the Croatian government in its three-year roads expenditure programme. The EBRD will finance the completion of the Ostrovica-Vrata and Vrata-Delnice highways, a programme of road improvement on priority routes, equipment for the Ucka tunnel, bridge inspection, road maintenance equipment and technical cooperation.
This is the first roads project financed by the EBRD in Croatia and one of three projects supporting the reconstruction of basic infrastructure in the country. The first of these, to rehabilitate Croatia's air navigation system, was signed on 21 September 1994. An electricity reconstruction project was approved by the Bank's Board in December 1994.
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