The Nis-Pristina highway will connect some 100,000 citizens in the Toplica District with Corridor 10, says Zorana Mihajlovic.

"The highway from Nis to Pristina via Merdare, which Serbia will build together with the EU, will connect around 100,000 citizens in the Toplica District with Corridor 10, the most significant traffic route in Serbia," the minister of construction, transport and infrastructure said on Wednesday.

According to her, the planned route will go from Nis via Merosina, Prokuplje and Kursumlija to Merdare, and continue to Pristina via Podujevo.

"This 77-kilometer highway will cost 800 million euros and will be built by our companies and our workers, and the project will further contribute to the economic development of the Toplica District. Serbia will in this way have access to another port in the Adriatic, Durres. Even more importantly, this highway will connect Serbs in Kosovo to Belgrade and Nis, which they will be able to reach in a little over half an hour," said Mihajlovic.

She also recalled that the construction of the highway was a proposal made by Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, and that it became a part of the Berlin Process. Work is already being done with the EU to produce design and technical documentation, which should be completed this year, Mihajlovic said.

"Politically, this is the first project where Serbs and Albanians should work together. The highway from Nis to Pristina will show that there is no better way to cooperate and preserve stability than infrastructure. Everyone is tired of conflicts, we must live and work together," the minister told TV Belle Amie, a local private broadcaster in Serbia's southern town of Nis.

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/business.php?yyyy=2017&mm=03&dd=23&nav_id=100842