CROATIA: Government Changes 2009-2012 Road Construction Programme

In the period between 2010 and 2012, investments in the construction of roads, including highways and other roads, will amount to around HRK 7.7 bn, and together with investments in 2009, they will amount to HRK 14.5 bn, it was said at a government session on Thursday, at which the government adopted a programme for the construction and maintenance of public roads in the 2009-2012 period.

If in the meantime new sources of financing are found, the investments could be a bn kuna higher, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Bozidar Kalmeta said.

He said that the value of investments in road construction in the 2009-2012 period made up 47 percent of funds envisaged by the previous four-year programme.

The minister recalled that changes to the programme for the construction of public roads had been announced earlier, and that they were prompted by the situation in financial markets, recession and problems in getting loans.

He added that the changes would defer the completion of construction work and that work on some road sections would be stopped until new sources of financing were found.

Kalmeta said that work on the Ravca-Vrgorac section of the Zagreb-Dubrovnik highway would continue further south to Ploce and that work would continue on the Jakusevac-Velika Gorica section of the Zagreb-Sisak highway.

The Rijeka-Zagreb Motorway company has completed work on this dual carriageway, and now two hubs are being built. Work is under way on expanding the Istria Y highway to make it a dual carriageway, and work on the Zagreb-Macelj highway has mostly been completed, Kalmeta said.

The government today also launched a procedure to amend existing legislation to ensure that members of public companies' supervisory boards are appointed in a public procedure.

The ministries of justice and economy were entrusted with preparing within 30 days a bill on the criteria for the selection of members of public companies' supervisory boards.

The government adopted a decision determining some 20 categories of goods and services for which public procurement procedures would have to be organised.

The government adopted a decision on the redistribution of cars owned by the Republic of Croatia between bodies of state administration and the general affairs offices of the parliament and the government.

The decision is part of the government's austerity measures.

The government adopted a conclusion regarding a joint declaration on the establishment of a Croatian-Hungarian cross-border biosphere reserve, signed in Barcs in 2009.

It also adopted a conclusion regarding the signing of a statement of intent on the conclusion of a Croatia-Canada memorandum of understanding on youth mobility, which is expected to significantly contribute to improving the educational, cultural and labour mobility of young people in the two countries.

Source: www.vlada.hr