€1 bln national investment plan coming up soon
Serbian Minister of Finance Mladjan Dinkic announced today that the Ministry will send the government a proposal of the national investment plan worth €1 billion for four major sectors in the next ten days.
The surplus from this year’s budget will be used only for public investment, Dinkic said and specified that the funds will be invested in schools, health sector, infrastructure and the economy, that is, for the purchase of computers, school desks, hospital beds, as well as for highway construction, introduction of gas system and many other projects.
He said that privatisation revenues so far amount to between €1.3 billion and €1.5 billion and added that it is necessary to build a number of roads and connect important roads with highways. Dinkic particularly highlighted the importance of connecting Kragujevac with Corridor 10.
Agreement with Belgrade Mayor Nenad Bogdanovic has been reached to build two bridges in Belgrade at the same time – one across the Sava River and one near Vinca, Dinkic said. The bridge on the Sava River would be financed by the city of Belgrade while the Serbian government would cover the cost of the Vinca bridge from the funds gained from the sale of mobile operator Mobtel, he noted.
Investment funds for important projects are provided with soft loans, Dinkic said and announced that the government will make a priority list after it adopts the national investment plan.
The Minister of Finance explained that investment in infrastructure will use the privatisation revenues as well as additional loans. He noted that it is impossible to finish all mentioned projects for only €200 million, adding that concessions, loans and privatisation revenues need to be engaged in order to cover all costs.