Businessmen in Serbia in favor of public-private partnership

KOPAONIK - Businessmen in Serbia are very interested in public-private partnership (PPP), according to participants in the 22th edition of the Kopaonik Business Forum.

This model of partnership has been used only very little so far, as only five projects have been implemented and a bit more than 15 projects have been approved under the Law on Public-Private Partnerships, passed in 2011, said President of the Association of Corporate Directors of Serbia Toplica Spasojevic.

Speaking on a panel discussing the topic late on Wednesday, Spasojevic pointed out that the PPP model was an opportunity to attract investments to Serbia, citing Air Serbia, the national carrier, and its posting of a net profit of EUR 2.7 million in 2014 as a successful example of PPP implementation.

According to a financial report of the company, in the first 12 months of operation of the restructured company, Air Serbia revenues increased by 87 percent and amounted to EUR 262 million, the best result in the national carrier's history.

Spasojevic said that the Fiat car factory in Kragujevac and the Belgrade Waterfront project also represented some sort of public-private partnership.

President of MK Group Miodrag Kostic said it were politicians that should be asked ask why the PPP model was no longer being used in Serbia.

Kostic believes that the government is to blame for not wanting to take responsibility and make a decision about what it wants to offer. He claims that the Serbian Railways, RTB Bor and utility companies would be functioning much better in private hands.

President of the PSP Farman company Branislav Grujic stressed that construction was a great resource for PPP models and that the government could resolve the...