Bridge Over River Drina

Belgrade, Dec.1, 2009 (Serbia Today) - Uzice Mayor Jovan Markovic’s has launched an initiative to build a 90 kilometer highway from Pozega in Western Serbia, across the Drina River, to Visegrad, in the Serbian enclave of Bosnia-Herzegovina, according to Belgrade daily Danas.
Prime Minister of Republic Srpska (RS) Milorad Dodik and Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic has accepted Uzice Mayor Jovan Markovic’s initiative to build Pozega-Visegrad highway.
Serbian Prime Minister supported the idea after their recent meeting in Banja Luka.
It is estimated that the investment would be worth approximately EUR 250 million and the governments of Serbia and Republic Srpska would provide the investment.
Experts have proposed two routes for the future highway, one, favored by Markovic and Dodik, that would go from Pozega, Uzice, Kotroman to Visegrad and Podromanija.
The second route would run from Pozega and Uzice, through Bajina Basta, Fahovici and Han Pijesak to Podromanija.
“The highway must be a government issue and I am sure that the Serbian government will support our initiative. Since connecting the two countries is of utmost importance, the size of the investment should not be an obstacle,” said Markovic.
Dodik stated that this project is a “great chance for development for both Serbia and RS, that is, Bosnia-Herzegovina.”
The initiative to build the highway was also supported by Visegrad Mayor Tomislav Popovic.
“The construction of this highway would connect Visegrad and Serbia and bring us closer to Europe. The town would become a tourist destination because we have a lot to offer and the highway would attract foreign investors, from which not only Visegrad would benefit, but also RS and Bosnia-Herzegovina,“ said Popovic.
Infrastructure project such as bridges and highways are already contributing to Serbia’s economic recovery, and it was announced the unemployment in Serbia decreased by 1.36 % in October compared to September’s rate, according to the National Employment Service.
Of the total number of unemployed people in Serbia actively looking for work, of which there are 727,000, more than half are women, according to Serbian news service B92.
Of the total number of unemployed, 64 % have been unemployed for a long period of time, which means that they have been looking for a job for over a year.