Minister of Infrastructure Milutin Mrkonjic said that Corridor 10 is the main project that can help Serbia get out of the crisis more quickly.

Mrkonjic said in an interview to magazine Ekonom:east that the second lane of the northern part of Corridor 10, from Novi Sad to Horgos, and a section towards Kelebija, with the total length of 110 kilometres, will be financed from the budget. The contractors of these works, worth €110 million, will be domestic companies.

The planned deadline for completion of works is May 1, 2011, the Minister said and added that 40,000 Serbian workers will be hired to build the Corridor, while four times more will be hired for construction of facilities around the motorway.

He said that construction of two more sections in the south, ring road around Belgrade and part of highway near Pirot, will have started by May. The total cost of these works will be €400 million.

According to the Minister, a tender will be called these days for construction of the part of the motorway passing through Grdelica Gorge. These works will cost €38 million.

Speaking about the place of the Port of Bar in Serbia’s strategy for transport development, Mrkonjic said that Serbia’s interest in this port is both political and economic.

The Port of Bar, Belgrade – Bar railway and Port of Belgrade are a whole, the minister said and added that the maximum of 1.5 million tonnes of goods per year are reloaded at the Port of Bar, although it is designed for 7 million tonnes per year. Half of that amount is used by Serbian companies.