The chairman of the Departmental Committee for Economy and Finance of the Freedom and Justice Party (SSP), Dusan Nikezic, has said that it would take the state to 250 years to return the 2 billion euros it spent on the Belgrade Waterfront real estate development project.
According to him, in the last three years, the Serbian government profited 3.5 million from Belgrade Waterfront while the company that is implementing the project owes close to 100 million euros only on the account of land development costs.
The company, which is majority-owned by Eagle Hills from the United Arab Emirates and the rest by the Government of Serbia, announced two days ago that after losses in 2020, it will generate a profit of 25 million euros in 2021.
As Nikezic said, 8 million of that profit should go to the state of Serbia and, according to the calculation.
“As if the billions given to them were not enough, the Arab partners invoice almost 5 million euros a year for project development services, charge 4.75% interest for a 25 million euro loan and out of the 3.5 billion announced they have paid only 80 million euros and obviously will not give a single euro again, as the last payment was in 2016,” Nikezic warned.
He added that “it is not clear to anyone why the government of Serbia was such an expensive Arab partner that does not bring any money, know-how or properly market the project given majority ownership and the right to manage huge assets,” Nikezic said and added that the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and the Minister of Finance, Siniša Mali, knew “how damaging the contract with Eagle Hills was and therefore they are not one of the signatories.
(Danas, 19.08.2021)
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