The Ministry of Construction and Infrastructure has said that there are currently 60,699 construction sites in Serbia, counting those where construction work has not been completed, or those that have not yet received a license to use.
The number of these new apartments, roads and industrial buildings has risen by 16,000 compared to the same period in 2019, when their number amounted to 44,484.
Up to 10% of all works, as planned, are carried out in Belgrade, where 6,065 construction sites are currently active. Novi Sad, Subotica, Kragujevac and Pancevo are among the five cities where most of the work is underway.
The state is an investor in close to 120 construction sites and coordinates the implementation of large-scale projects through public companies. The total value of these projects is 3.6 billion euro, or 427 billion dinars.
“More than 5,900 workers are engaged in state projects in the segment of road and municipal infrastructure construction, as well as in the construction of apartments for the security forces,” say the line ministries.
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Work is underway on the construction of 250 kilometres of motorways and expressways, including the Belgrade bypass, the Moravian corridor, the Preljina – Požega motorway, the Sremska Rača – Kuzmin motorway, the Ruma – Sabac – Loznica motorway and expressway. Reconstruction, rehabilitation and maintenance work is also underway on 470 kilometres of state and local roads.
More than 1,500 workers are involved in railway projects on more than 300 kilometres of sections under construction and reconstruction, including the Belgrade-Budapest high-speed railway and regional railways.
Over 3,500 apartments for security forces are under construction with a total of 1,000 workers engaged in their construction in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis, Kraljevo, Kragujevac and Sremska Mitrovica, while another 350 are engaged in projects in constructing municipal infrastructure, aqueducts and air transport infrastructure.
“As long as there is the market demand and as long as the state aspires to develop the infrastructure quickly, we expect the construction sector to remain the driving force for economic growth in Serbia,” said the Ministry of Construction.
As in all aspects of society, the crisis caused by COVID-19 has interrupted economic growth since the beginning of the year, after the introduction of the state of emergency.
On the other hand, construction is not slowing down under the weight of the crisis, but on the contrary, the sector is extremely stable.
The Vice President of the Construction Chamber of Serbia, Goran Rodić, says that the sector is alive and very active even during the epidemic, and that there are jobs for many more workers, although there is a lack of qualified technicians and qualified professionals.
“Most of the construction is currently taking place in Novi Beograd, where new condominiums are being built, but there are also active construction sites throughout Serbia, mainly on the Kopaonik Mountain and in other mountain centres. The adaptation of the wellness centre in Kursumlija is also underway,” Rodić said.
(Vecernje Novosti, 21.07.2020)
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