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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Government intends to secure equal development of all parts of the country

Vranje, 7 September 2005

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica put into operation today in Vranje the water supply system "Prvonek", the largest investment in this municipality, worth over $70 million.

The Serbian government and the Vranje municipality together invested in the construction of this dam, going back to 1989, and with its completion, after a full 16 years, the water supply problems in Vranje and Bujanovac have been solved.

Speaking at the celebration occasioned by this event, Kostunica said that each new dam is a great success for Serbia. He added that even projects like this one, which were started a long time ago, can be accomplished if there is faith, resolution and responsibility.

He said that the water supply system "Prvonek" is an excellent example of how big projects of major importance can be implemented through the joint efforts of the Serbian government and local municipalities.

Kostunica stressed that the Serbian government is firmly resolved to tackle other problems that exist in the Vranje municipality, evidenced by the recent introduction of a programme for encouraging employment and reviving production in Kragujevac, Bor and Vranje.

Stressing that only one-fifth of the population of the Pcinj district is employed, Kostunica said that Serbia will be stronger if it has more employed and less unemployed people. The Serbian government has prepared the draft law on underdeveloped regions for the period between 2005 and 2010.

The government wants to turn Serbia into a strong country and in order to be strong, all its parts must develop equally, Kostunica stressed and added that all future measures the government intends to enact will rely on this principle.

Speaking about the importance of this area, Kostunica recalled that Vranje has been a carrier of Serbia's cultural development and a true cradle of great cultural and spiritual figures in the life of Serbia.

According to Kostunica, all political factors in Serbia must reach a consensus and work with joint efforts to achieve an increase in the living standard in Serbia, membership for Serbia in the European Union, that Kosovo-Metohija retains its integral part and that the state union of Serbia-Montenegro is preserved.

Stressing that the groundwork for a strong state is strong infrastructure, Serbian Minister of Capital Investment Velimir Ilic announced the beginning of construction of a Vranje ring road, adding that the funds for its realisation have already been set aside.

Ilic said that the newly-built dam will also enable development of tourism, hunting and fishing, thus opening up great potentials for this region that sits on the Vlasina River.

Ilic announced that in the course of 2006, substantial amounts of money will be invested in the improvement of infrastructure.

Minister of Economy Predrag Bubalo said that successful economic improvement cannot exist without the development of infrastructure, including regular water and gas supplies, and a good road system. He added that foreign investors will be more attracted to areas with developed infrastructures.

Bubalo concluded by explaining that Kragujevac, Bor and Vranje are receiving special aid from the state because the transition period has been especially tough for people in these cities, with many unemployed as a result of it.

While in the area, Kostunica, Ilic and Bubalo also took the opportunity to visit the reconstructed Vranje-Bujanovac road, with Ilic taking time to update the prime minister on other road works projects, namely the Leskovac-Macedonia border road in southern Serbia, which, according to Ilic, has seen completion amounting to more than 1 billion dinars in work.

Ilic said he was pleased that works on the Presevo border crossing have begun, and once they are completed, Presevo will be one of the most modern border crossings in Europe. Works in the area of the Vlasina River are also in progress, and road construction in the mountainous parts is to begin, he concluded.

Kostunica stressed that the reconstructed Vranje-Bujanovac road, apart from the Prvonek dam, is an infrastructure object of great importance, adding that it is only one in a string of roads completed as a result of the efforts of the Ministry of Capital Investment.

He reiterated the government’s firm resolution to work on expanding the road network in Serbia, adding that its aim is for all regions to develop at the same pace both when it comes to infrastructure and economy.