At a session on Thursday, the Croatian government decided to provide advance payment and performance bonds for the construction of ships by the Brodosplit shipyard, amounting to some 109 million euros.
Economy Minister Djuro Popijac said the ships in question were very sophisticated vessels, commissioned by a Dutch client. He explained that the client had commissioned one ship and would probably commission two more, which he said would enable the Split-based shipyard to start building ships of greater value.
These are the first ships to be built by Brodosplit after the completion of the policy area No. 8 (Competition Policy) in Croatia's EU accession talks, Popijac said, adding that the guarantees to be provided by the government were allowed by competition rules and did not involve any particular risk for the government.
Finance Minister Martina Dalic said the bonds in question were not guarantees based on which the shipyard could take a bank loan, but rather guarantees to the client, who would finance the construction of the ship with his own funds, that the ship would be delivered in line with the contract and on time.
We expect the bonds to be returned after the ship is delivered to the client, Dalic said, adding the government expected to get back in September a bond for a ship that was recently delivered by the Split shipyard.
