Belgrade-Bar Road Construction Starts in 2010

Serbia's Minister of Infrastructure Milutin Mrkonjic said the construction of Belgrade-Bar highway, part of the pan-European Corridor 11 will start next year.

Upon visiting works on the road section in the town of Kraljevo on Saturday, Mrkonjic told reporters that 20 million euros have been set aside in the state budget for that purpose.

"I believe that Serbia needs to have access to the sea in a political sense as well... I suggested it to be the port of Bar, and since Miodrag Kostic, one of the most important private businessmen in the country took over the coordination of the work, it means that there is an economic interest," Mrkonjic said.

He went on to say that the state has let its businessmen to understand the necessity of the construction of Corridor 11, which goes from Timisoara to Bar, in order to invest in its construction.

"We let the businessmen understand the importance of the work, then the state will back them with as little as possible money, of course, as the state doesn't have it a lot," he said.

Mrkonjic pointed out that the construction of Corridor 11 is a "very profitable project," because the Belgrade-Bar railway and the port of Bar are inseparable parts of one whole.

Earlier this year, the minister unveiled Serbia's interest in acquiring the Port of Bar in Montenegro once the company is offered for sale stressing that Serbia's industry has no access to the sea without it. The Montenegrin government was expected to open a tender for the company's sale by the end of the year.