Serbian rivers – potential which is not used enough

Published on 23. April 2023., News

The Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Goran Vesić, met today in Belgrade with the Secretary General of the Danube Commission, Manfred Zajc, and pointed out that rivers will be one of the priorities of his work.

Vesić said that Serbia is proud of its membership in the Danube Commission, which is one of the oldest international organizations.

He stated that international and interstate rivers will be the focus of his work, because Serbia does not use its rivers enough, which was a big mistake. Vesić added that while he was part of the government in Belgrade, he implemented President Aleksandar Vučić’s plan to lower Belgrade to the rivers, and that now is the time for Serbia to turn to its rivers.

Also, Vesić informed Zajc about the ongoing reconstruction of two Serbian ports on the Danube, Bogojevo and Prahovo, then about the intention to build a new port in Belgrade, about the Let’s Sail Serbia project, as well as the intention to build two waste water treatment plants in Belgrade in Veliko Selo and Batajnica, which would reduce the number of direct discharges of Belgrade sewage into the Danube by about 90 percent.

“Rivers will be one of the priorities of my work as long as I hold this position,” said Minister Vesić, the ministry announced.

The Secretary General of the Danube Commission, Manfred Zajc, thanked Minister Vesić because Serbia pays more attention to rivers. “Serbia is a proud member of our Commission and we see your country as one of the key Danube countries,” Zajc said.

The meeting was attended by Assistant Minister for Water Transport Predrag Petrović and the representative of Serbia in the Danube Commission Dejan Trifunović and Ivana Kunc, the first counselor at the Embassy of Serbia in Hungary.

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