Contracts for the Rijeka Gateway II project to modernise the road network around this northern Adriatic port city were signed on Friday by Finance Minister Ivan Suker, the head of the World Bank Office in Croatia, Andras Horvai, and the Director of the Rijeka Port Authority, Bojan Hlaca.
The project is worth EUR 88 million. The World Bank has approved a EUR 84 million loan backed by government collateral, while the remaining EUR 4 million will be secured from the state budget. The loan is to be repaid over a period of 23 years, with 10 years' grace.
Most of the loan, about EUR 70 million, will go towards construction of terminals and a wharf, while the rest will be spent on upgrading services. The terminals are expected to be completed in about two and a half years and the wharf in about three and a half years.
Rijeka Gateway II is the continuation of the Rijeka Gateway project, which was also financially supported by the World Bank. The purpose of the project is to improve the competitiveness of Rijeka as a port city strategically located at the start of Corridor Vb, one of the most important pan-European transport routes.
Suker said that a EUR 100 million loan had been arranged with the World Bank for the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development, adding that the loan was designed for entrepreneurs.
In order to continue to receive assistance from the World Bank, the government has to implement structural reforms, Suker said, adding that Croatia was coping well with the present problems.
Horvai said that by 2014, when the Rijeka Gateway project is to be completed, Rijeka would have one of the most important container terminals in the region.
(Hina)