All parliamentary caucuses on Thursday supported the ratification of a collateral agreement between Croatia and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for a project aimed at the completion of pan-European transport corridor Vc, namely the construction of roads along the northern and southern border with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The project includes the construction of 12.5 kilometres of a motorway - along the northern border and a bridge over the Sava river near Svilaj, and the construction of the border crossing at Metkovic at the southern border.
The project is worth a total of EUR 131.5 million, of which EUR 60.63 will be secured through the EBRD loan, and a similar loan will be agreed with the European Investment bank, while the rest would be covered by the Croatian Motorways company.
"Other sections of Corridor Vc must be built for it to function fully," Vladimir Seks of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) said adding that the fund for te construction of a bridge over the Drava River near Osijek has also been secured. He said the construction would be launched in April.
He stressed that demining was being carried out along the Drava river for the construction of the section from Osijek through Beli Manastir to the Hungarian border. A permit for the construction of the said section has been obtained, while negotiations with the EBRD on a EUR 150 million loan are in the final phase.
This loan, the agreement for the construction of the Sredanci-Svilaj section and the launching of the construction of the Osijek-Beli Manastir-the Hungarian border section would mean the completion of this section of Corridor Vc, Seks said, adding that this corridor was the lynchpin of the road infrastructure in eastern Croatia.
