27. 10. 2005

SOLUTION FOR RTV BOR COME SPRING

BOR, October 27, 2005 – The World Bank will finance the privatisation advisor for RTV Bor, appointed by the Privatisation Agency. World Bank’s Country Manager Carolyn Jungr and Serbian Economy Minister Predrag Bubalo met in Bor, the B92 correspondent Dejan Radulovic reports. Minister Bubalo said the first steps were made toward the privatisation of the Mining and Smelting Basin in Bor. “The privatisation advisor has been appointed. It is a consortium led by Kaib. The members are, I assume, Deloitte & Touche for economy, Harrison for legal and IMC for technical matters. The first meeting is expected by the end of this year, and call for tenders anticipated in the first quarter of next year”, Bubalo said. Carolyn Jungr said that the World Bank was working together with the Serbian Government on the strategy for reconstruction and privatisation of the basin and expert assessment of the river in Bor. “The World Bank generally supports the Government’s plan for market testing of the holding and will finance the privatisation advisor. After the market test, the World Bank will be ready to support the solution for the ecological problem and will finance the counseling center for the people who lost their jobs. The center will be designed to assist them in finding a new job, but will also provide means for development of small and medium size companies. It is important to find buyers willing to invest in Bor, particularly in the smelting plant”, said Jungr. The Economy Minister said a number of large international companies are interested in investing in RTV Bor, regardless of its current condition.