Croatia sets up commission to facilitate investment projects

The application of legislation on strategic national investment projects will in some cases shorten the time needed to realise an investment by a few months and in some other cases by up to a year, Regional Development and EU Funds Minister Branko Grcic said at a news conference on Monday.
 

The news conference was held to present a commission set up to assess and determine proposals for strategic projects.

Under the Law on Strategic Investment Projects, projects are of strategic importance if the investment in question is equal to or exceeds 150 million kuna, or, in case the project is eligible for co-financing from EU funds, if the investment is equal to or exceeds 75 million kuna.

If an investment project is to be implemented in an area of special state interest or on an island, its value must be equal to or exceed 20 million kuna. The same amount applies if an investment is to be made in agriculture and fisheries.

Grcic, who chairs the commission, called on investors to contact the Economy Ministry and use the possibility of state assistance in obtaining various permits so as to expedite the implementation of their investment projects.

Economy Minister Ivan Vrdoljak, who is deputy chair of the commission, said the government now finally had the tool to expedite strategic investments and help realise them within appropriate time frames.

Vrdoljak said the Law on Strategic Investment Projects made it possible to sanction civil servants and institutions responsible for delays in investment projects.

If it misses the set deadlines, an institution will be fined 5,000 kuna and the civil servant in charge will face disciplinary proceedings and a possible dismissal, Vrdoljak said.

The commission itself, on the other hand, is not burdened by deadlines or possible penalties, it must only meet at last once a month to assess if proposed projects are of strategic importance and meet the set criteria, while it is up to the government to officially decide on declaring a project strategically important.

Grcic and Vrdoljak said they expected a significant interest in assistance in the implementation of strategic investments, cautioning that big projects needed time to prepare and that they would probably be implemented only during the term of the next government.

(Hina)
 

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