Works to build the first section of the Nis-Merdare-Pristina highway - from Nis to Plocnik - will begin next year, B92 reported. This is according to a plan of the Serbian Government and the European Investment banks (EIB), Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic said on Wednesday. According to the Serbian Government, Mihajlovic said this as she met with Director of the EIB for the Western Balkans Dubravka Negre, and "pointed out the importance of the so-called highway of peace." 77 kilometers of the highway are planned to pass through central Serbia. According to a statement posted on the government's website, Mihajlovic "expressed the belief that this EUR 212 million road can only bring new jobs and additional investments for more than half a million people living in those districts," and said that "finalization of the preliminary project funded by the Fund for the Western Balkans is under way, while the government has completed a spatial plan that will soon be considered at the session of this body."