April 10 (SeeNews) - The international centre for underwater archaeology in Croatia’s Adriatic town of Zadar has completed a 3.98 million euro ($4.3 million) expansion project co-financed by the European Union, the country's regional development ministry said.
The European Union has provided 3.38 million euro towards the total cost of the project, the ministry said in a press release on Tuesday. The Croatian ministry of culture provided the remainder, according to the website of the archaelogy centre.
Under the project, the St. Nicola church and convent building in Zadar were renovated and converted for the needs of the centre into premises with a net area of 1,300 square metres. The centre will use the new buildings to present its activities and artifacts to tourists and organise science conferences.
The underwater archaeology centre opened in 2007 as part of the Croatian conservation institute. In 2009, it became a separate legal entity and since then, it has been operating under the administration of the Croatian ministry of culture and UNESCO.
($ = 0.921 euro)