DJ Croatia Tries Again To Privatize Ailing Shipyards

ZAGREB, Croatia (AFP)--Croatia's government said Thursday it would try again to privatize its struggling shipyards, an important condition for European Union membership, after an earlier call for international tenders failed.

The decision to launch another international tender by Feb. 15 will involve five of the six shipyards, the government said on its Web site.

A decision on the Uljanik shipyard, the only one of the six that is currently solvent, was delayed until next week as the Economy Minister Djuro Popijac said management might be interested in buying it.

The Uljanik management later said this wasn't the case and there had been a misunderstanding.

The shipyards were first put up for sale in August but only two offers were received and both were rejected by Zagreb.

The EU is insisting that Croatia restructures its ailing shipyards as part of its negotiations to join the 27-nation bloc.

The state-owned shipyards employ around 11,500 people.

Experts warn that all of them need a radical overhaul, saying they are technologically inferior to their global rivals and suffer from low productivity, overstaffing and outdated management.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 28, 2010 13:03 ET (18:03 GMT)