By granting highways concessions, they could receive 3.2 billion euros

Member of Parliament Damir Kajin stated at yesterday’s press conference in Pula, commenting on the announcement of granting highways concessions, that there is no alternative as the state budget cannot bear the financial burden of seven billion kuna that needs to be repaid in 2014.

 - By granting highways concessions, Croatia could receive 3.2 billion euros, which is like suddenly getting an additional 500 kilometers of highways – emphasized Kajin, who advocates for pressure to be applied on the government to extend the concession period for Bina Istra, i.e., the French company Bouygues on the Istrian Y, so that construction can continue.

– This is an investment worth 250 million euros, and a prerequisite for the start of these works is the extension of the concession period by four or five years – said Kajin.

Speaking about the construction of the roundabout in Šijana, at the entrance to Pula, he pointed out that many have had their season ruined due to the postponement of works. In support of this, he noted that all the money was secured by the state, while the local government apparently needed to “exploit the roundabout for political purposes.”

Kajin supported the recent non-final ruling in favor of the ‘Franak’ association, although, as he said, he believes it is ‘unfair that one approach was chosen for citizens, and another for commercial companies, which do not have the right to compensation for losses under the currency clause expressed in Swiss francs.’

– Commercial companies do not have the right to compensation because they supposedly have professionals who should have been prepared for such decisions – said Kajin, adding that among the 50,000 individuals who took out loans in Swiss francs, there are thousands of above-average informed people, from university professors to journalists, and among companies, as he said, ‘there is a large number of desperate people who fought for mere survival and accepted all the conditions offered by certain commercial banks.’