September 2 (SeeNews) - Croatia is planning to invest 40 million kuna ($5.9 million/5.4 million euro) in the reconstruction of the Cres island port under an EU-backed project by the end of 2021, the government in Zagreb said.
The European Union is providing 29.2 million kuna of non-refundable assistance towards the cost of the project on the northern Adriatic island of Cres, the central government is allocating 5.1 million kuna from the state budget, while the remainder will come from the local administration which controls the port, the government statement said in a statement on Friday .
The project will enhance the connectivity of Cres with the other islands in the Kvarner Bay, located between the Istrian peninsula and the Croatian mainland. It will also help reduce congestion at the port and contribute for the protection of the local marine environment.
Transport minister Oleg Butkovic said in the statement that similar contracts worth a total of some 300 million kuna have been signed so far for the reconstruction of 11 seaports. They are part of a larger plan that includes 28 such projects worth a total of 700 million kuna.
Butkovic said the remaining contracts will be signed by the end of the year.
(1 euro = 7.40521 kuna)