Home / Business and Politics / Eight Projects Worth 320 Million Euros Presented

Eight Projects Worth 320 Million Euros Presented

The Center for Monitoring Business Operations in the Energy Sector and Investments (CEI) presented 8 public-private partnership projects with a total value of 320 million euros, for which contracts are expected to be signed in 2013.

The largest by value is the construction of the Justice Square in the area of the former barracks in Zagreb’s Črnomerec, worth 1.3 billion kuna, where buildings for the municipal, county, commercial, and misdemeanor courts, as well as the municipal state attorney’s office and judicial academy, are to be constructed. The signing of the contract with the private partner is expected in December of this year.

In September, a contract for the renovation and extension of the General Hospital Varaždin, worth 300 million kuna, is expected to be signed, and a contract for the renovation of nine schools in Varaždin County, worth 173 million kuna, is also planned for September.

A month later, a contract for the public-private partnership for the construction of a new building for the Croatian State Archives is planned, with an investment value of 138 million kuna.

Among the projects for which contracts are expected this year are the renovation of the Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Popovača, the renovation of the former Tobacco Factory Zagreb and its conversion into the Croatian Historical Museum, as well as the renovation of schools in Istria and Dubrovnik.
Minister of Economy Ivan Vrdoljak, who was present at the presentation, stated that public-private partnerships are a suitable model in a situation where budgetary capacities are limited.

The Chairman of the CEI Management Board, Dragan Marčinko, emphasized the importance of standardizing public-private partnership projects and public investments in general to ensure smooth implementation. The investment potential of strategic development projects in energy and infrastructure under the auspices of CEI is 15 billion euros, Marčinko announced, revealing a catalog and registry of these investments.

In addition to the projects ready for implementation this year, an overview of public-private partnership projects planned for this and next year, with a total value of 5.24 billion kuna, was also presented today. The largest financial share in these projects comes from healthcare with 2.25 billion kuna, followed by education with 1.25 billion kuna. Justice follows with 950 million kuna, culture with 300 million kuna, and social policy with 220 million kuna.