ELEK: GAS PIPE LAYING PROCESS UNDERWAY IN SRPSKA, THE LARGEST IN HISTORY

BANJA LUKA, MARCH 13 /SRNA/ – The CEO of the Sarajevo-gas company, Nedeljko Elek, told SRNA that a gas pipe laying process in Republika Srpska worth BAM 1.02 billion is underway, the largest in history, budget-financed with a deadline of four years.

Elek said that the initiative for the gas pipeline construction was launched by President Milorad Dodik, who insisted it should be brought to Banja Luka as soon as possible, given all the problems the city is facing. "We are starting in August this year and within 18 months we will reach Banja Luka. Banja Luka faces the most problems due to heating and ecology. It is often listed as one of the most polluted cities in the world," Elek said. He listed numerous benefits of gas pipe laying, emphasizing that the price of one cubic meter of gas is one BAM, while the price of a cubic meter of water is BAM 1.5. Elek, who is also the chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Jahorina Olympic Centre, stressed that the development of this centre is a state project and that the policy of investing in this mountain has proven successful, noting that the invested money paid off long ago. He pointed out that the Olympic Centre has been operating positively and that this year, for the first time, it has a positive cash flow, meaning that there is enough money in the account for business operations until the end of the year. "I was watching Igor Crnadak in the National Assembly saying that we had stolen everything and that everything was black and miserable, and then on weekends he goes to Jahorina, takes photos and says it is beautiful and that the slopes are good. The same people who attack us praise us on weekends," Elek stresses. In the SRNA podcast, Elek also spoke about the justification for Republika Srpska’s investments in Jahorina, cooperation with Belarus, medical treatment Republika Srpska of citizens abroad, and whether he has political ambitions. The podcast, featuring Nedeljko Elek as a guest, will be available tomorrow from 10:00 a.m. to users of SRNA’s service, on social media and on our agency’s YouTube channel.