Mihajlovic: 40 percent of flood-ravaged roads repaired

BACKO GRADISTE - Around 40 percent of the roads destroyed in the May floods have been repaired so far, Serbian Minister of Transport Zorana Mihajlovic said on Sunday, announcing that all of the country's damaged roads and railway infrastructure will be repaired by October 1.

"We are talking about damage amounting to between EUR 60 and 70 million," Mihajlovic told reporters in Backo Gradiste, where the government presented the results of its first hundred days in office.

Mihajlovic said that, in the coming days, she expects local self-government authorities to issue orders for payment of funds for rebuilding and reconstruction of houses damaged in the floods.

Speaking about her ministry's first hundred days in office, she noted that the procedure of issuing building permits has been streamlined and that construction of road and railway infrastructure is now under supervision, adding that the ministry has tabled a bill on reconstruction in the country.

The bridge on the Danube River between Zemun and Borca will be opened to traffic by the end of this year, with the bill on planning and construction to be adopted in early September to make it possible for investors to obtain permits within 28 days, Mihajlovic said, adding that the road from Ub to Lajkovac will be completed by the end of the year.