Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 05-08-05

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] SUMMER STORMS

[02] NEW INFRASTRUCTURES AND SERVICES FOR THE CITIZENS

[03] THREE NEW CROSSINGS IN CYPRUS

[04] THE BSTDB FUNDS DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AT THE ANKARA AIRPORT

[01] SUMMER STORMS

The Civil Protection General Secretariat warned the public to take safety measures to be protected from the storms forecast today by the National Weather Bureau.

Coastal shipping service in the Aegean will run as scheduled today.

The National Weather Bureau, EMY, has forecast a notable temperature drop across the country.

In Thessaloniki, weather will be cloudy with occasional heavy rains. Northwest winds will be of varying force from medium to strong.

[02] NEW INFRASTRUCTURES AND SERVICES FOR THE CITIZENS

The draft bill on the partnership relations between the public and private sector submitted to Parliament aims at creating new infrastructures and offering more state services to the citizens.

Minister of Finance Giorgos Alogoskoufis stated that partnerships constitute a significant reform for the economy and reiterated that the government has launched a number of initiatives and actions in the past 16 months to strengthen entrepreneurship, improve productivity through investments and transform the economy to become more extravert and competitive.

[03] THREE NEW CROSSINGS IN CYPRUS

The European Commission announced the opening of three new crossings allowing movement to and from the occupied territories in northern Cyprus.

The European Commission mentioned that the list with the passages through which people and goods can cross the buffer zone has expanded to include three additional crossings in the western part of the island at Kokkina and Kato Pirgos.

The crossings are referred to as Kato Pirgos-Karavostasi, Kato Pirgos-Kokkina and Kokkina-Pachiamos.

[04] THE BSTDB FUNDS DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AT THE ANKARA AIRPORT

The Thessaloniki-based Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, BSTDB, approved a loan of 18 million euros for construction projects at Ankara's Esenboga Airport. The 12-year loan recipient is the TAV Yatirim Yapim ve Isletme SA made up of the Turkish construction groups Tepe and Akfen, the project's sponsors.

The project concerns the expansion, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the new terminal station serving domestic and international flights which is expected to triple the airport's overall annual capacity to up to 10 million passengers.

The financing of the project for the amount of 196 million euros has been secured through the German Bayersische Hypo und Vereinsbank and includes, among others, sponsorships and commercial loans from a number of banks and organizations such as the BSTDB and the French development institution Proparco.

The BSTDB has also approved a 5-year loan of 5 million euros for the purchase of mechanical equipment by an Azeri glassworks industry plant that was recently privatized. The loan will be granted to the Caspian Management Systems LTD, buyer of the plant, through the International Bank of Azerbaijan, IBA, and will cover part of the overall cost of the project estimated at 15.4 million euros. The new equipment is expected to increase the plant's annual production to 100 million glass objects and bottles.

The BSTDB is an international credit organization based in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, made up of 11 countries, Greece, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldavia, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine.

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