Minister: Corridor 10 immune to crisis

Infrastructure Minister Milutin Mrkonjic says the construction works on the pan-European Corridor 10 would not stop next year "even with the budget in crisis". The minister told Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti that all plans for 2009 had been accomplished, with 50 kilometers of the highway built employing domestic construction firms, and that the 20 km stretches near Subotica and Novi Sad would be open for traffic on November 29. Minister: Corridor 10 immune to crisis “I guarantee, the last 307 km section of Corridor 10 will be finished by May 2012 and nothing will change those plans,” he said. Mrkonjic added that Corridor 11 also was "a big chance for Serbia". “The road-railway route from Timisoara to Bar, via Belgrade, is also our big chance for development. I already have an agreement with the Italians for a modernization of the Bar railway which has not been repaired since it was commissioned. The Italians are also slowly moving their firms from Romania to Serbia and they are taking over the Vrsac region,” according to Mrkonjic. Not only this, but the minister also said he is not giving up on the idea to build "20,000 cheap apartments". “100,000 people are renting apartments in Belgrade alone, and cannot afford to buy real-estate for EUR 2,000 per square meter. My idea is that the price of a square meter should not be higher than EUR 500,” said he. “The government has to support the project too, by providing locations and the accompanying infrastructure. I guess every citizen deserves to get a piece of land from the country. The government has assigned Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning Dulic to handle the entire project,” Mrkonjic said.

Minister: Corridor 10 immune to crisis

“I guarantee, the last 307 km section of Corridor 10 will be finished by May 2012 and nothing will change those plans,” he said.

Mrkonjić added that Corridor 11 also was "a big chance for Serbia".

“The road-railway route from Timisoara to Bar, via Belgrade, is also our big chance for development. I already have an agreement with the Italians for a modernization of the Bar railway which has not been repaired since it was commissioned. The Italians are also slowly moving their firms from Romania to Serbia and they are taking over the Vršac region,” according to Mrkonjić.

Not only this, but the minister also said he is not giving up on the idea to build "20,000 cheap apartments".

“100,000 people are renting apartments in Belgrade alone, and cannot afford to buy real-estate for EUR 2,000 per square meter. My idea is that the price of a square meter should not be higher than EUR 500,” said he.

“The government has to support the project too, by providing locations and the accompanying infrastructure. I guess every citizen deserves to get a piece of land from the country. The government has assigned Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning Dulić to handle the entire project,” Mrkonjić said.