June 5 (SeeNews) - Croatia's government said it has approved a plan by 3. Maj shipyard to sign a sub-concession agreement with MKM Yachts, the local unit of Australian luxury cruise and tour services provider Scenic Group.
By signing the sub-concession deal, 3. Maj will open the way for increasing the efficiency of its concession contract, as the shipyard will receive orders for the construction of a further five expensive ships by Scenic Group, with MKM Yachts to be engaged in works on the equipping and interior design of vessels being built at the site, the government said in a statement on Thursday.
Under the plan, 3. Maj will grant a 10-year sub-concession on some 21,500 square metres of its land and sea concession area to MKM Yachts under the terms of its own agreement with the government - a fixed annual concession fee of 3 kuna ($0.45/0.40 euro) per square metre and a variable fee equal to 1% of the total annual revenue.
In 1999, the government awarded a 32-year concession contract to 3. Maj to operate some 304,000 square metres of land and 209,000 square metres of sea area in the Adriatic city of Rijeka for business purposes.
In April, 3. Maj started building a polar cruise ship for another Scenic subsidiary - Malta-based PEC 2. The 228-passenger luxury mega-yacht will be called Scenic Eclipse II.
In March, economy minister Darko Horvat said that the government will issue new guarantees to 3. Maj to help the troubled company take out loans in order to finance the planned construction of new ships, including six luxury yachts for an unnamed Australian corporation. Horvat noted that the total investment by the Australian client will reach 50 million euro ($57 million).
(1 euro = 7.57208 kuna)