Economy Minister Darko Horvat repeated on Wednesday that the government would financially help the Djuro Djakovic mechanical engineering group by January 17, the deadline for unfreezing the company's bank accounts.

In late December the minister said that a medium-term solution for the company would be a loan which the government was willing to support with guarantees in the amount of some 150 million kuna (€20 million).

The loan would help unblock frozen bank accounts of companies within the Djuro Djakovic Group that are currently blocked, Horvat said at the time, noting that the loan would also secure liquidity for the completion of current jobs that the group has agreed with three clients.

Once the products commissioned under those contracts are finished and delivered, an additional 128 million kuna (€17.2 million) will be secured for the company’s survival, Horvat had told reporters in December.

Based in the eastern Croatian city of Slavonski Brod, Djuro Djakovic Group is a major engineering company which makes industrial and infrastructure equipment, heavy machinery and vehicles such as locomotives. In 2018, the group posted consolidated revenue of 466 million kuna (€63 million), with a net loss of 26.4 million kuna (€3.5 million).

(€1 = 7.44 kuna)