Croatian Coastal Town Seeks Land for Marina

The Croatian coastal town of Ploce is seeking permission from the government in Zagreb to convert part of the town's now defunct military base into a location suitable for a marina with 400 berths and hotels.

Davor Mihaljevic, chair of the town's council, from the governing Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, told BIRN on Monday that town authorities had asked for "a part of land" of the former Neretva base, named after the local river, to develop tourism.

They want officials to remove the administrative "special purpose" designation of the location and the site assigned for the building of a marina, hotels and other facilities.

He said the location and existing facilities are worth around 40 million euros, while the investment of the marina would cost around 14 million euros.

Mihaljevic explained that the "special purpose" label prevents such investment and the further development of tourism in the town.

According to the town authorities, another location in town, already used by the military, could be turned into a centre for training a special marine unit, as Defence Minister Damir Krsticevic has proposed.

"There are already projects; there are already interested parties in this," he continued, explaining that the state could keep its ownership of the site but award a concession.

Mihaljevic said the initial problem was that state authorities had quit leave the base and not guarded it - which had led to the theft of its facilities. Now the reconstruction of the site for military purposes will cost more money, he explained.

He said reports that locals "don't want the military in the town" were nonsense. The town authorities "understand the need for a southern military port due to national security purposes", Mihaljevic...