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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

RSD 300 million set aside for economic projects in Kosovo

Belgrade, 5 March 2008

State Secretary of the Serbian Ministry of Economy and Regional Development Verica Kalanovic said today that some RSD 300 million has been set aside so far for economic projects and establishing economic sovereignty in Kosovo-Metohija.

Verica Kalanovic

Author: Tanjug

Kalanovic said at a press conference that these funds are already incorporated into the budget for 2008, but that additional funds will most probably be necessary, first of all for setting up a joint public company Skijalista Srbije and Inex-Intereksport on Brezovica mountain.

She said that a long-term investment plan for Brezovica, worth €40 million, has been drawn up for the next three years, and the proposal for setting up the company has been sent to the Serbian government.

The state secretary said that subsidising 12 companies in Kosovo-Metohija will be continued and added that emergency aid has been given to those companies to the amount of RSD 29.2 million.

This group includes the Trepca mining and smelting basin which received RSD 40 million from the state in late 2007. It will get addition funds for investments and encouragement of the programme of battery production.

Kalanovic said that there are 807 craft shops and 406 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Kosovo, and that these companies will receive loans under special conditions.

The municipalities and enclaves where those companies are located will be treated as endangered areas, and the loans will be approved with a 1% interest rate and a loose guarantee in the form of token handshake, Kalanovic explained.

She specified that every SME that employs a worker with residency in Kosovo-Metohija will receive RSD 160,000 per employee.

According to Kalanovic, in order to stimulate employment, a public announcement was made and all municipalities were informed about the conditions and programmes they must fulfil and submit in order to receive the funds. She added that around RSD 30 million has been set aside for these purposes.

Kalanovic said that a regional development office will be opened in Kosovska Mitrovica to provide support to the implementation of a local infrastructure development project, as well as to extend non-financial assistance to craft shops and SMEs.

Speaking about the dynamics of privatisation in the province, Kalanovic explained that once Serbia attains economic sovereignty in Kosovo-Metohija, conditions will have been met for privatisation to begin, as that is not possible at the moment.

She stressed that the plan is to continue implementing 303 regional development projects in 2008 on Serbia’s territory without Kosovo-Metohija, for which RSD 7.9 billion has been set aside. Out of this amount, RSD 5.7 billion is for local and RSD 2.2 billion for business infrastructure.