By the end of the year, construction will start on over 6,000 apartments in Belgrade and around 1,700 apartments in 17 towns across Serbia, Minister of the Environment, Mining and Spatial Planning Oliver Dulic said Thursday.

Construction will start in October on 1,000 non-profit apartments in New Belgrade, in the Dr Ivan Ribar neighborhood, said Dulic, who visited a building site in Vozdovac with Belgrade Mayor Dragan Djilas.

"As soon as all necessary projects are completed, we will offer apartments at the New Belgrade location on very favorable terms, using the same model that was used in Vozdovac," Dulic announced.

He said that the first facilities in Vozdovac will be completed in May next year, while all work should be done by the end of 2012.

Pointing out that some 50 Serbian construction companies were hired for the Vozdovac project, Dulic said that more companies will be contracted for the remaining sites which are yet to open.

In the apartment and office complex in Vozdovac, which was financed by the government in an effort to revive the construction industry after the crisis, works are under way on 24 buildings with a total of 2,235 apartments. In total, 4,578 apartments of various structures will be built.