BELGRADE, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Serbia signed a commercial contract with a Turkish company on Wednesday to design and construct the first section of the highway between Belgrade and Sarajevo, capitals of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), hoping to boost regional economic cooperation between the two countries and wider.
The contract was signed by the Deputy Prime Minister Zorana Mihajlovic who is also the minister of construction, transport and infrastructure of Serbia, acting director of the public company "Roads of Serbia" Zoran Drobnjak and the president of the company "Tashjapi" Emrulah Turanli.
According to a press release of the Serbian government, around 30-kilometre section of the highway between villages of Sremska Raca and Kuzmin is worth 250 million euros. The contract includes the development of a detailed regulation plan, projects and construction works with a new bridge across the Sava River, as well as the development of project and technical documentation for the second -- around 70-kilometre long route of the Belgrade-Sarajevo highway, from Pozega to Kotroman.
After the signing, Mihajlovic emphasized the importance of infrastructural connections in the region, estimating that the better connection between Serbia and BiH will enable faster development of the region
"We hope that next year we will sign a financial contract, and that in 2020 we will begin to work. We expect the contractors to perform the works in accordance with the contract and on time," Mihajlovic said.
The realization of this project, she pointed out, is important for good relations between Turkey and Serbia.
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Turkey Mehmet Cahit Turhan, who also attended the signing, said that Turkey considers Serbia an important factor in stability in the region and that the agreement signed today is only the beginning when it comes to further improvement of relations between the two countries.
