Turkish company to construct road in Serbia's south

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Serbian government and Turkish construction company Tasyapi on Monday signed a $27 million contract for reconstruction of the road connecting two southern cities in the Balkan state.

The contract to reconstruct Novi Pazar-Tutin road was signed by Chairman Of Executive Board Of Tasyapi Emrullah Turanli and Serbian Minister of Construction, Transportation and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic.

Novi Pazar is the largest city in the Sandzak region of Serbia. It was established between 1459-1461 by Ishakoglu Isa Bey, the founder of Bosnia's capital Sarajevo and the capital of Macedonia, Skopje.

Turkey gives a great importance to the Sandzak region as it plays role in bridging the relations between the two nations and keeps the cultural ties at its strongest.

The road to Tutin is about 22.5 kilometers (14 miles) long and serves to more than 150,000 people.

Tutin is also the first municipality in Serbia that has renewable wind power.

Speaking at a ceremony, Mihajlovic said 80 percent of the project is financed from a Turkish loan and the remaining 20 percent from the budget of Serbia.

“The contract we signed today involves the development of a preliminary project, the development of a detailed regulation plan and the execution of works," Mihajlovic said.

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Rasim Ljajic and Turkey’s Ambassador in Belgrade Tanju Bilgic were also present at the signing ceremony.

Bilgic said Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency has so far invested about $20 million in the Sandzak region and that there are still many reconstruction projects.