The model used by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party for the construction of sports halls for the 2009 World Handball Championships in Croatia was a financial failure and a burden on the state and local communities, First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Radimir Cacic told the press during a visit to the northwestern town of Cakovec on Saturday.
Cacic said that he remembered very well how the HDZ leadership at the time "vociferously defended their construction model", while he had warned already then that it was "totally shady business".
"The epilogue of the story is wasted money and a burdened country and local communities," Cacic said. He added that on the other hand the Varazdin sports hall was not in financial trouble because of responsible and rational management.
Cacic said that the present government inherited the obligations of the previous one, but that the sports halls would certainly not be demolished.
Commenting on the HDZ's negative reaction to the government's plan to invite bids for the operation of the motorways, Cacic said he was surprised that someone who is in court over those same motorways can say such things.
Cacic praised the motorway construction model used by the 2000-2003 government of the late Prime Minister Ivica Racan, saying that it was crucial for the country's development. "The only thing the HDZ did successfully after that was that they robbed and impoverished this country," he added.
"We have proved to be good at building motorways, but we don't know how to run them. By issuing concessions, which is normal in developed countries, we will keep the ownership and control mechanism," Cacic said.
