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Croatian Air Traffic Control lands EBRD support
Bank funds complete upgrade at hub of European airspace
A €25 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will help modernise air traffic control facilities in Croatia, a strategic hub between central European and southeast European air space. The EBRD loan forms part of a €55 million project in cooperation with the European Investment Bank, and will go to Hrvatska kontrola zracne plovidbe d.o.o., Croatia Control Limited (CCL), which provides the country's air navigation service.
The investment will enable Croatia to replace its core air traffic management system, including radar data and flight processing systems and communication equipment. CCL will also expand its building at Zagreb International Airport to include a new operations room. Development is being undertaken in anticipation of growing air traffic in and around Croatian airspace.
The project is also expected to enhance cost savings, benefiting airlines and customers. Gavin Anderson, EBRD Business Group Director for Infrastructure said the volume of air traffic is growing in Europe requiring system upgrades to ensure safety standards are of the highest possible standard. Croatia is at an important hub between two major European regions and the support of the EBRD and EIB is essential to the long-term efficiency of regional air navigation. Croatia airspace is closely integrated with its regional neighbours.
It provides a link between the busy central European airspaces covered by the Flight Information Regions (FIR) of Padova, Vienna, Ljubljana and Budapest to the North and the airways down the southeast European peninsula towards Greece, Turkey and the Middle-East. It commands entry to FIRs Sarajevo, Belgrade and Tirana. This project has received the full support of the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) of which Croatia became a member in 1997.
Operational requirements, investment needs and technical specifications were drafted in close partnership with Eurocontrol, thereby ensuring interoperability of the equipment as well as transparency and cost efficiency in the project. The EBRD's involvement also seeks to consolidate Croatia Control as a commercially independent entity, with full responsibility over service provision and full membership in international and European civil aviation bodies. To date, the EBRD has invested around € 1 billion in 52 projects in Croatia.
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