Seven banks help construction industry

- The first public call for participation in the Programme of special support to the construction industry of Serbia has been answered by seven business banks with total of 14.5 billion dinars - the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development announced yesterday (June 22, 2010).

Banca Intesa will participate with 3.5 billion dinars, AIK Banka will provide 3 billion dinars, Komercijalna Banka - RSD 2.5bn, UniCredit Bank - RSD 2bn, Societe Generale Bank - RSD 1.5bn, while Eurobank EFG and Volksbank will participate in that programme with 1 billion euros each.

The funds intended for that programme will be spent on implementation of important building projects in cities and municipalities all around Serbia: construction and reconstruction of schools and kindergartens, hospitals and other medical institutions, apartments, sports facilities, cultural institutions, and other facilities of public importance.

According to the announcement, the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning is expected to announce a public call within next few days for local self-governments to suggest the projects that should be financed from the funds collected within the scope of this programme.

People from the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development remind that they announced the first public call from the Programme of special support to the construction industry of Serbia on June 11 for selection of business banks.

The deadline for banks to apply expired on Monday, and the condition was that the interested bank provides minimum 1 billion dinars, with the interest rate that is 2.5% higher than the reference interest rate of the National Bank of Serbia, the repayment period of five years, and the grace period of one year.

The Government of Serbia adopted on June 3 the Programme of special support to the construction industry of Serbia, which should be implemented within the next year and half.

Total of 18,125 million dinars will be set aside for support to the construction industry, 10% of which will be provided by both Republic of Serbia and municipalities, while 80% will be given by business banks.