USD 575 million required for work on Morava River basin

The most important investment for Serbia is urgent regeneration of the Morava River basin and the construction of a cascade of six artificial lakes, said Goran Rodic, secretary of the Construction Board of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (SCC).

That project also includes the construction of seven hydroelectric power stations - Ljubicevo, Vlaski Do, Velika Plana, Svilajnac, Bagrdan, Cuprija and Paracin.

- Costs of the construction of main components of that system total about USD 575 million - Rodic told Tanjug news agency.

He said that it was also necessary to urgently finish the construction of dams Rovni near Valjevo and Selova in the vicinity of Prokuplje, which already cost the state EUR 150 million, and the SCC assessed that another 15 to 20 million euros were required for that purpose.

Another priority is to resume work on the Rzav dam, which will allow for the supply of healthy water to that part of Serbia, Rodic added.

He stressed that integral regeneration of the Velika Morava River basin would largely benefit both population and agriculture as approximately 100,000 hectares of arable land would be watered, whereas over 70,000 hectares would be protected from floods.

Rodic pointed out that four million citizens of Serbia lived in the Morava River basin.

According to the estimates done by Jaroslav Cerni Institute and Energoprojekt, Serbia is threatened by serious water shortages in the next 10 years, with Sumadija, Vojvodina and the south of Serbia being the most vulnerable areas in that regard, said people at the SCC.

The Morava River basin regeneration project could be implemented by domestic construction companies, Rodic said and added that foreign investors were equally interested in that job.