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Rijeka Bypass to be completed with EBRD Finance
€40 million to significantly cut congestion around city centre
The EBRD is lending the Croatian state-owned road company Hrvatske Ceste €40
million to build the last section of the eastern bypass in Rijeka, between the
towns of Sveti Kuzam and Krizisce in north-west Croatia. It will also finance
two roads that connect to the bypass.
The loan will help complete the bypass offering motorists an alternative route
around Rijeka, therefore avoiding the city centre. It will also help promote
road-sector reform through the introduction of performance-based maintenance
contracts to increase effectiveness and to lower costs of road maintenance in
Croatia.
Riccardo Puliti, EBRD Director for Transport, said traffic congestion,
pollution and concerns for safety around the city of Rijeka have worried
residents and tourists for many years. Once the bypass is complete, many of
these concerns will be dampened as traffic flow will mostly be directed around
the city, said Mr Puliti. As well as benefiting residents and tourists, the
new bypass will help support those businesses heavily dependent on the road
network for trade purposes, he added.
The project builds on an EBRD strategy to develop road networks in Croatia.
With this loan, the Bank has provided more than €270 million to finance six
road sector projects in the country. These include administrative reforms
aimed at improving the management and development of the road network, and
preparation and implementation of national road plans.
Established in 2001, with its headquarters in Zagreb, the capital city,
Hrvatske Ceste employs nearly 400 people.
The EBRD is one of the largest investors in Croatia having committed more than
€1.8 billion in 75 projects.
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