Croatia: Rijeka Bypass

repaying

The proposed project consists in a loan of up to EUR 40 million to Hrvatske Ceste (“Croatian Roads”) for the construction of the last section of the eastern bypass in Rijeka, between Sveti Kuzam and Krizisce. The operation will allow Croatian Roads to complete the bypass, relieving traffic in the heavily-congested city centre and facilitating traffic movement to the south. As part of the financing, the Bank will also assist the borrower in the development of performance-based contracts for routine maintenance. The operation will allow the Bank to continue to support road sector reform in Croatia, which began in 2001 with the creation of two new entities, Croatian Roads and Croatian Motorways. Previous Bank loans have also supported other aspects of institutional development. The transition impact of the proposed operation will focus on the development and introduction of innovative procurement practices for road maintenance aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the borrower’s maintenance operations. Hrvatske Ceste, or Croatian Roads, is a state-owned company, established by government decree in 2001. The company is responsible for administering over 6,000 km of the country’s state roads, and assists county and local authorities with their road programmes and preparation of technical documents. Croatian Roads reports to the Ministry of Transport. Loan of up to EUR 40 million. EUR 114 million. The Project has been screened A/0 and has undergone an Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”) and associated public consultation. An independent environmental consultancy company was contracted by the Bank to update the EIA, originally prepared in 1986, and to carry out the public consultation process in accordance with the Bank’s requirements. A public meeting was arranged in Rijeka in March 2004 to identify all issues of concern associated with the Project. The EIA was then undertaken to investigate potential impacts and to develop measures for mitigating any adverse impacts. The investigations showed that the Project is likely to have a significant positive environmental impact since it will relieve traffic in the heavily-congested centre of Rijeka. Some adverse impacts are likely to occur, but these can be efficiently mitigated. As a result of the EIA a part of the road section was re-routed within the designated corridor to prevent and to mitigate some potentially significant impacts. The final EIA document was disclosed to the public on 1 July 2004 and was then subject to a 120 day public consultation period. No comments were received. The Company will prepare and implement an Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan as per the recommendations of the EIA. The Company will disclose to potentially affected public the annual environmental reports of the Project as required by the Bank. There is an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment available for this project. EUR 250,000 to be provided in the form of bilateral funding to assist the borrower in the development and implementation of performance-based road maintenance contracts. Donor country to be confirmed prior to Board approval.