September 13 (SeeNews) - Croatia's state-owned motorway management company Hrvatske Autoceste (HAC) said it signed on Monday a 474.5 million kuna ($74.7 million/63.5 million euro) deal with Slovenian company Kolektor CPG and Italy-based ICM for the construction of a bypass of the town of Novi Vinodolski.
The construction of the 9.8-kilometre bypass should be completed in three years, HAC said in a statement published on its website, adding that 6.5 kilometres would be part of the planned motorway A7 and a 3.3-kilometre stretch will be a connection to the existing Adriatic motorway D8.
The bypass will comprise two tunnels, with a length of 834 metres and 1,062 metres, respectively.
Novi Vinodolski is a popular tourist summer destination on the Adriatic coast. The construction of the bypass will solve the existing problem of traffic jams in the town and along the Adriatic motorway, which crosses it.
Tourism is a key industry for the Croatian economy, contributing a fifth of the country's GDP.
(1 euro=7.478 Croatian kuna)