Nezavisne novine: BANJALUKA – The Council of Ministers of the RS approved in the first four months of this year more than 260 million KM, of which most, 85 per cent, will be spent on infrastructure, while 7 per cent each was given for employment and health care.
This was stated in the brochure “The Most Important Activities of the Government of the RS” for the period January – April 2008, which was published by the Public Relations Bureau of the Government of the RS.
The work of the Council for Development of the RS with its 77 projects in this year was put among the most important activities of the Government of the RS in the first four months of this year.
The Brochure states that of 260 million KM, more than 63 per cent was intended for the eastern part of the RS, while 28 million KM was approved for mitigation of the consequences of rise in prices, as well as additional 10 million KM for subsidizing the electricity. In this year, for social care for workers, who were left without job because of bankruptcy, 26 million marks will be paid.
Also, 6.5 million KM was approved for building and equipping education institutions and institutions of culture, while the budget item for students’ scholarships was increased from 900.000 KM to two million KM, and additional 350.000 KM was approved for scholarships’ for students who are studying abroad. Next school year free text books will be provided for all 22.400 pupils of first and second grades.
Among the infrastructure projects, the most important ones are award of concessions to the Austrian “Strabag” for building of 397 kilometres of highway network, start of second phase of building the highway Banjaluka – Gradiška, and reconstruction of 217 kilometres for ten road directions in the RS.
In this period, there was a finish of first and beginning of second phase of reconstruction of the railroad infrastructure. Recognised among the more important results was founding of the enterprise “Airport Trebinje” and opening of the air line Banjaluka – Salzburg. Among the most important energy projects are concession to the EFT Company for building the thermo power plant in Stanari, worth 1.3 billion KM, concession to the Norwegian “Statkraft” for building four hydro power plants in the lower Vrbas and approval for foundation of the new enterprise Hydro Power Plants Upper Drina, whose founders are the RS and Serbia.