Feasibility Study for the Morava channel by the end of July

By the end of July, the Chinese expert could deliver the Feasibility Study for the Morava channel, for which an extensive documentation has been collected in Serbia, to the Government of Serbia, the acting director of the Republic Agency for Spatial Planning, Dragan Duncic has announced today.

-The Chinese company develops the Study absolutely without compensation and Serbia will not pay a diner for it – Duncic said at the meeting of the Board of the Assembly of Serbia for spatial planning, traffic, infrastructure and telecommunications.

After the Feasibility Study has been completed, the Serbian Ministry of Spatial Planning should develop a spatial plan with a special purpose for that project, he said, pointing out that the Government has not approved necessary RSD 70 mil for the development of the plan yet.

- If the funds are approved, a tender for the spatial plan development will be released by the end of July – Duncic said at the meeting of the board where this year’s February-April report on the work of the Ministry of the Natural Resources, Mining and Spatial Planning was adopted.

He reminded the Chinese experts have visited Serbia twice, visited the Morava, collected all the necessary documentation and measured the Morava with eco probes. The funds from the Republic budget have not been spent for that, Duncic said, adding that without development of spatial plan documentation and adequate studies, it is not possible to implement a single investment in Serbia.

Members of the opposition parties wondered whether Serbia is indebted for the project and Duncic responded that development of spatial documentation does not anticipate necessarily that the project will be adopted, as well as that Serbia does not have to generate new debts for the channel because the government can agree that to be carried out through concession.

He pointed that that development f complete documentation for such a big project often takes a couple of years and mentioned that, regardless of the fact whether the channel will be built or no, Serbia must have regional plan of the South and the West Morava so that one part of gravel and sand from that area, with alignment of plans, could be used for the Pojate-Preljina highway construction.