11.10.2011.

Minister Sutanovac in Sabac

Minister of Defence Dragan Sutanovac visited today, together with his associates, the wood processing plant of the Military Construction Institution “Belgrade” in Sabac. On this occasion, the Minister visited the manufacturing plants which are to begin the production of the wooden housing units. Upon visiting the plants, Sutanovac met Milos Milosevic, the Major of Sabac.

“We had a chance to see the possibilities and the production capacities of the plants; and I would especially like to emphasise that the Military Construction Institution, only four year ago, had a loss of RSD 150 million, whereas today it has a capacity to produce a sequence of small housing units – the wooden houses”, Minister Sutanovac said. He stressed that the plant in Sabac employs 70 workers with the aim of extending its capacities and hiring new workers.

According to the Defence Minister’s words, the first settlement with 50 wooden houses is to be built in Valjevo, housing active and retired military personnel. That will mark the beginning of the new construction standard for the members of the Serbian Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence, with a wish to aid the construction of the housing units for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other state institutions as well.

Minister Sutanovac emphasised that the plant in Sabac was unique and very up-to-date.

“In 2005, the then Ministry of Defence’s leadership placed it in its Master plan as a plant without perspective, with which we did not agree, and after three years of investments, it is earning money for the Ministry of Defence and provides employment”, Minister Sutanovac said, adding, “apart from the current employees structure, with secondary education, the aim is the employment of architects and civil and electrical engineers, as well as the extension of capacities and the beginning of the distribution of the wooden houses”.

Minster said that there was a need for the housing construction in Sabac as well. “The approximate price should not exceed €350 per m2, while we believe that the price could even be lower, depending on the number of houses that are to be built. This has a good perspective for us, since we allocate € 20,000 for pensioners who did not solve their housing issue”, Sutanovac estimated adding that all those who would receive a house would receive a parking place as well.

The Major of Sabac, Milos Milosevic emphasised that the engagement of the plant in Sabac meant secured jobs and opening of new vacancies for citizens, as well as, the possibility of solving the housing issues for the military personnel in that town.

“This is the concept with which we would try to attract the attention of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for solving the housing issues within the police”, Milosevic said.

The Major of Valjevo, Zoran Jakovljevic, expressed his content that the Ministry of Defence chose Valjevo for this pilot project.

“To begin with, we have chosen an area of 2.5 hectares of a 50-hectares-large destroyed military training ground at which I hope an exclusive residential area is to be build, with the tendency to extend it to the remaining 50 hectares”, said Jakovljevic. According to his words, the urban planning is not yet finished, the parcelling and geo-research are on the way, and the concrete works are soon to begin.

“The wooden houses are ready and in the first quarter of the next year we could move in military pensioners and other military personnel”, the Major of Valjevo added.

A REPLY AT THE JOURNALIST’S QUESTION

In reply to the journalist’s question about the professionalization of the Armed Forces, Minister Sutanovac said that large numbers of young men and women who want to be professional soldiers present an indicator of the high level of trust in the Serbian Armed Forces. He said that today there were even dozens of applicants for one vacancy in the army, in certain towns and municipalities, and added that there was a high interest in voluntary military service.

According to his words, the professionalization of the Serbian Armed Forces was conducted in the best possible way, with more than 1500 candidates for the voluntary military service for 500 vacancies in September.