REYKJAVIK (AFP) - The legislation Icelanders will vote on Saturday paves the way for Reykjavik's reimbursement of billions of euros paid by Netherlands and Britain to savers hit by the collapse of an Icelandic bank.

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Adopted by parliament on December 31 after lengthy debate, the reimbursement measure hit another roadblock when Iceland's president Olafur Ragnar Grimsson refused to sign it. He instead called for a March 6 referendum, citing public opposition.

A series of polls show the majority of voters are likely to reject it.

The legislation foresees Iceland paying some 3.9 billion euros (5.2 billion dollars) to Britain and the Netherlands to compensate for money they shelled out to some 340,000 of their citizens hit by the October 2008 collapse of online Icesave bank.

The repayment would take place between 2016 and 2024, at a 5.5 percent interest rate.

Iceland hopes to reimburse a large chunk of the money -- up to 90 percent -- by selling assets of its nationalised Landsbanki bank. But the process is expected to take several years and estimates vary on its potential value.

Landsbanki's now-defunct subsidiary, Icesave managed to woo its British and Dutch clients in record time before collapsing, along with the rest of Iceland's banking sector.

All told, the Internet bank -- which forged its success by proposing foreign savers high interest rates -- scooped up 229,000 UK savers since appearing on the British market in 2006. It amassed another 114,000 savers in the Netherlands in 2008, before its collapse.

As Iceland's financial system toppled and Landsbanki was nationalised, Icesave's clients saw their accounts suddenly frozen.

London and The Hague compensated their savers but then turned to Reykjavik, which said depositors would each be entitled to nearly 21,000 euros per account.

Efforts by the three countries to settle the dispute have been set back by popular opposition in Iceland and the refusal by Britain and the Netherlands to endorse legislation amended by the Icelandic parliament in August.