The Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, said today, during the laying of the foundation stone for the Regional Science and Technology Park in Kruševac, that 16 million euros will be invested in the project, and that the works will be completed in October 2025.
She congratulated Kruševac and the people of Kruševac for practically joining the ranks of cities such as Belgrade, Novi Sad, Čačak, Niš, Kragujevac, which will have a science and technology park.
“Kruševac may have an even greater obligation and an even greater responsibility, which is to make this a regional center for advanced technologies, for advanced industry, for the entire development district and beyond,” said Brnabić.
She pointed out that she was in Kruševac on Vidovdan 2021, at the request of the then mayor Bratislava Gašić, and that was when the idea of the Regional NTP in Kruševac was born, the construction of which began in just two and a half years.
“That used to be unimaginable for Serbia, but today it is the standard. Serbia has no time to waste, because we have to do something every day, to realize all the potential that Serbia has, and there are many more,” said Brnabić.
She added that the design was completed in two and a half years, that they found financing, signed a financing contract with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which provides the most favorable loans possible, and then all of this was ratified in the Assembly, a tender was announced, and the best one was chosen offer and construction began.
“It’s always an important day when you start something new. And now we’re starting to build another one of those projects that we promised all of Serbia and all of our people as part of the Serbia 2027 – Leap into the Future program. Many thought when we presented that Plan that these are just fairy tales, fantasies, that it is not possible to do all that in four years. But you see that it is being done and you see that every day we start or continue one of those projects,” said the Prime Minister.
She added that she is sure that everything that has been promised will be fulfilled by the end of 2027 and that this will ensure that life in Serbia is even better and of a higher quality.
“I am sure that we will achieve the goal that the average salary in Serbia will be at least 1,400 euros, and that the average pension and minimum wage will be at least 650 euros. And in order to achieve that goal, we have to do all the projects we promised. And this is one of important projects that we have to do in order to reach the goals we promised to our country and our people,” said Brnabić.
She called on the people of Kruševlja to start working on the NTP as soon as it is completed because, as she said, a lot of time has been lost since 2012.
“Too much time and opportunities have been missed. Too many jobs shut down. Too many careers destroyed. Too many families left without work. We have made up for a lot by this year 2024. We have created together over 550,000 jobs in the last 11 years,” said Brnabić.
She added that it is possible for “Serbia to be what Serbia is”, and that, as she pointed out, is certainly one of the most successful, if not the most successful country in Europe.
“That’s what we can be. That’s what Serbia has in itself. That’s what our people have in themselves,” said the Prime Minister.
The mayor of Kruševac, Ivan Manojlović, said that the construction of the Regional Science and Technology Park in Kruševac is a huge thing for the entire Rasin district. As he said, the most responsible for initiating that idea were the current Minister of the Interior, Bratislav Gašić, and Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, who “had the time and desire to listen to the idea and who helped to find a way to make it come true.”
“And what is particularly important, which is really a decades-long need of the Rasin district, is that Kruševac and the Rasin district will get a semi-open fair space for the first time so that we can present the economy, products and services of our district in an adequate and modern way,” he said. the mayor of Kruševac.
Colangeli: This is a big project for us
The director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the Western Balkans, Matteo Colangeli, said that the opening of the new science and technology park is an important achievement for the innovation ecosystem in Serbia.
“We are proud to be part of this project, through a loan of 18 million euros we have invested in three science and technology parks in Nis, Čačak and Kruševac, as well as the financing of the BIO 4 campus in Belgrade,” Colangeli said.
Kolandjeli pointed out that the EBRD will support the innovation ecosystem in Serbia, as well as the development of young talents, with an emphasis on female innovators.
“This is a big project for us, a big year for us in Serbia, in which we invested 850 million euros. For the first time, Serbia was one of the top 5 recipients of the EBRD’s global innovation, we are proud of that,” said Colandjeli.
He stated that creating opportunities in smaller cities gives young entrepreneurs the opportunity to develop in their city. According to Kolandjeli, the EBRD works hard and will work to support Serbian startups.
“We are currently supporting 20 startups through a program called ‘Star Venture’ through which we provide assistance in the knowledge and finance needed for development, so that they can develop to the next level,” Colangeli pointed out.
With the laying of the foundation stone, the construction of the Regionalng industrial-technological park in Kruševac, which will cover an area of 10,000 square meters in the industrial zone, begins. The NTP in Kruševac will be located on the site of the former administration building of the Chemical Industry “Župa” in Dedina and will occupy an area of 1.6 hectares, where the main building, conference rooms and 39 business modules will be located, intended for the work of technologically and research-oriented companies for more than 200 users.
In the second part, 14 production modules of 280 square meters each are planned, and the total area of the hall is about 4,000 square meters. In June of last year, the Government of Serbia signed a loan agreement and a project agreement between the Government of Serbia and the EBRD, which secured 80 million euros, of which 70 million will be earmarked for the construction of science and technology parks in Čačak, Niš and Kruševac, and the other 10 million for the construction of the BIO 4 campus in Belgrade.
The ceremonial laying of the foundation stone was attended by the Mayor of Kruševac Ivan Manojlović, the Minister of Science, Technological Development and Innovation Jelena Begović, the Minister of Internal Affairs Bratislav Gašić, the Director of the Business Incubator Center Kruševac Martina Manojlović and the Director of the EBRD for the Western Balkans Matteo Colangeli.
