BELGRADE, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- An ambitious investment plan to the tune of around 14 billion euros for the next five years was announced on Saturday by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Ana Brnabic at a conference here, in a bid to boost the national economy and improve people's living standards.
The plan, dubbed "Serbia 2025", contains key projects for Serbia's future development, and envisages financing both from the country's budget and loans from international financial institutions, according to a release from the Serbian president's office.
Under the program, 5 billion euros will be financed for road infrastructure, including the reconstruction of 5,000 kilometers of roads, and construction of new ones.
Another 3.33 billion euros will be allocated for railway infrastructure, of which 1.7 billion euros are intended for the construction of the first subway in the Serbian capital.
Other important investments are one billion euros for the construction of water pipelines and sewage in remote areas, 600 million euros for healthcare, 500 million euros will be earmarked to encourage young people to stay in Serbia, while 200 million will be spent to stimulate childbirth.
The agricultural sector will get 300 million euros, while 274 million euros will be for investments in water transport and 200 million euros for investment in tourism infrastructure.
The key points of the plan, said Brnabic, are "regional integration, deepening of the financial market, education reform, empowering public enterprises and a sustainable economy."
Vucic stressed that "peace and stability in the region is a prerequisite for fulfilling the national investment plan."
"Our plan and our projection are for the average salary in Serbia to be 900 euros (currently around 500 euros) at the end of 2025, and an average pension between 430 and 440 euros," he said. (one euro currently equals to 1.12 U.S. dollars)
