Damages caused to infrastruture by floods at about EUR 260 million

The damages that floods in Serbia caused to energy, telecommunications, railway and road infrastructure are assessed at about EUR 260 million, said Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Zorana Mihajlovic.

- By October 2014, all state roads will be finished. Damages caused to main, secondary and local roads total about EUR 40 millilon - Mihajlovic said while touring Obrenovac in company with the representatives of the World Bank on Sunday, June 1st.

According to her, so far the damages have been estimated at about EUR 200 million by local self-governments that have filed their reports.

She added that both local and national teams had already been formed and tasked to start the assessment of damages the next week, probably on Wednesday.

As Mihajlovic underlined, the money for repairing the damages will be provided from the EU Solidarity Fund, the loans extended by the World Bank and the EBRD, while certain funds will be secured by changing the purpose of unspent funds from IPA projects.

- We have an excellent cooperation with the World Bank with which we've agreed to change the purpose of the loan for roads and direct the funds to current priority projects instead - the minister pointed out.

Laura Tuck, the vice president of the World Bank, said that that finance institution had already donated USD 150,000 to Serbia for urgent repair of damages.

Ms. Tuck reminded that the Bank had already approved a USD 100 million loan to Serbia for roads, adding that those funds would now be directed to the most urgent projects.