Dobroslav Bojović, Chairman of Napred's Administrative Board – We are ready for Libya, Kuwait and Algeria

(Dobroslav Bojović)

In the year when the recently recovered building industry in Serbia suffered one of the first and the biggest blows of the global economic crisis, Belgrade-based Napred achieved record business results in the company's history. Namely, the profit of that architectural and building company reached RSD 1.16bn in 2009, while its RSD 3.96bn worth of incomes were 20% higher than in 2008.

- Napred, which has over six decades of experience in the construction business, is currently building facilities at over 70,000 square meters in Belgrade and 70% of works are already in their final phase. In addition to the projects in Serbia, Napred also operates in the markets of Slovakia, Austria, Russian Federation, Belarus and Kazakhstan. This local company will soon return to the building sites in Libya, Kuwait and Algeria where it has already opened branch offices - Dobroslav Bojović, the Chairman of Napred's Administrative Board, said in the interview with eKapija.

- We will start preparing the locations for construction of about 2,200 apartments in Libya in the last quarter of 2010. This project, which is financed by the Libyan Ministry of Capital Investments, is worth EUR 42m. We will be working in the city where Napred built a mosque in the late 1980's - said Bojović.

Thanks to everything mentioned above and more than enviable business results, Napred won the prestigious Business Partner award in the area of civil engineering for year 2009.

- The award is a result of decades-long team work of Napred's experts. Last year's success was achieved on the basis of our expertness, rich experience and references in the construction sector. We are honored to have been recognized by Mass Media International as the real business partner of the economy sector and large projects in Serbia. The business policy of Napred was not endangered by the crisis at any moment, although we partially changed the plans for the period 2010 – 2015 - 2020. We see the last year's business success not only in the balance sheet, but also in our entrance to the building sites and investments in staff and modern technologies - said Bojović.

Frikom and Idea invest EUR 37m in cold storage plant near Zmaj - Napred raises standards in construction of industrial facilities

The name of Napred is currently written on the boards of all building sites from so-called Savograd (Sava City), that is, from New Belgrade's blocks 26, 33 and 41, and all the way to Arena. The company's biggest building project at the moment is the construction of an industrial-commercial facility at 25,500 square meters near gas station Zmaj.

- It will be a cold storage plant with the space for 25,000 palettes and the temperature of minus 27 degrees Centigrade in it. Investors Frikom and Idea will invest about EUR 37m in that facility. The first part of works will be finished in July, while the second part will be completed in October - said Bojović.

The other representative industrial facility is a warehouse for Dijamant factory in Zrenjanin, which will soon get the use permit.

- We have built a floor storage with the capacity of 55,000 tons, unique in this part of Europe, for the Zrenjanin-based manufacturer. Complete "know-how" technology is imported, and we have implemented it in association with German manufacturer Smit Zeger.

We are not going to increase our ownership share in Energoprojekt

Although some people thought that the appointment of people from Napred to the Administrative Board of Energoprojekt would lead to the acquisition of the latter by the former, Napred still owns only 3.2% of capital in Energoprojekt.

- Our plans for Energoprojekt are exclusively based on partnership relations. We bought the shares to invest the money and we do not have any bigger ambitions. In order to increase our share in Energoprojekt, we would need both more money and infrastructure that we do not have at the moment. Energoprojekt is a global company and it is definitely in our interest to develop our business, launch new projects and maintain the existing ones in association with them - said Bojović.

Bojović also added that Napred did not consider either acquiring other building companies or increasing its share in Ratko Mitrović.

- The purchase of 10% of Ratko Mitrović was an attempt or an expression of my enthusiasm to gather Serbian building companies at one place - around the common interest, in a consortium or some third company that we would create. I had an idea that we all together appear in the global market and get as big piece of cake as possible. I was also considering the education of young staff for the building profession all around Serbia.

Mass construction instead of social housing – price of EUR 300 per square meter is unrealistic

- I do not agree with the idea of social housing construction. My opinion is that mass construction is a better solution and that excellent projects could be launched with an adequate support from the state. Napred is very interested in mass construction because one of its advantages is the possibility of application of the technology that would significantly lower the price per square meter. There is no social housing anywhere in the world now, so that it can not exist in Serbia either. I am of the opinion that the real price of square meter in mass construction is the one that was agreed with the authorized ministry, which is between EUR 600 and EUR 1,595, depending on the zone. That enables procurement of an apartment at the price that is lower than its monthly rent.

One of such projects in which Napred will take part is the construction of a residential zone in the location of barracks 4. juli in Voždovac, where 5,500 housing units will be built.

- We have, so far, given our contribution to that projects in several ways, and we will also contribute to the process of construction. We can build up to 100,000 square meters and make them ready for tenants in 18 months.

Bojović pointed out that urgent application of the new Law on Planning and Construction was necessary for development of the construction industry in Serbia because slow administration was inhibiting investments.

- Belgrade has enough land for all potential investors. Our capital city can have two Terazije plateaus and five extra zones. That is why we have to develop it by the standards and the quality it deserves as the regional center between Vienna and Istanbul.

T.S.