Government of Greece wishes to continue construction of Corridor 10, €265m from Hellenic plan to SCG

"The Government of Greece wishes to make the agreement with the officials of Serbia and Montenegro on continuation of construction of European traffic Corridor 10 in scope of Greek plan for economic rehabilitation in the Balkans", said the assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Evripidis Stilianidis, before the visit to Belgrade. Five-year (2002-2006) Greek plan for reconstruction of the Balkans anticipates €550m for six countries in the region: SCG - €265m, €15m of which for Kosovo, Macedonia - €75m, Romania - €71m, Bulgaria - €55m, Albania - €50m and Bosnia and Herzegovina - €19m. Entire aid is divided into three categories: 79%, or €435m, is planned to be spent on public works, 20% (€110m) for private works, and 1% (€5.5m) for small projects worth up to €50,000. The decisions on the payment of local grants will be made by the members of the embassies of Greece in the countries who will receive aid. Main project in SCG is Corridor 10, i.e. completion of the highway from Niš to the border of Macedonia. Possibility of co-financing with European Bank for Rehabilitation and Development is taken into consideration, while Athens unofficially estimates that the agreements between Greece and Serbia and Macedonia could be concluded before summer. (Pregled)