Vucic Tours Ivanjica-Sjenica Road, Cites 25-Month Deadline

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic inspected work on the Ivanjica-Sjenica road on Tuesday, touring a section within the Ivanjica municipality on the second day of his visit to southwest Serbia. Reconstruction on the road began in June 2025, with a completion deadline of 25 months.

Vucic was met at the site by Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Aleksandra Sofronijevic and Minister of Economy Adrijana Mesarovic, along with Ivanjica Municipality President Aleksandar Mitrovic. The visit had been scheduled for 10:45 am, following the morning leg of the program in the Zlatibor district, from which the president moved into the Moravica district.

At the site, Vucic spoke about how far the work had progressed and what comes next.

Right now we’re working on the section to Ivanjica. I think this is the main road for this area toward Kusici and beyond Kusici.

On the Bratljevo-Kovilje route, he said no agreement had yet been reached and that it involves an unpaved dirt road. Asked about the pace of construction, he said that work once started has to be carried through to completion.

Everything that gets started gets finished. Whatever you start, people will never let you leave it unfinished, and that’s only logical.

The president also noted that some roads leading to villages with small populations are not economically justified, but that the state invests in those areas anyway so people can keep living where they are. He said Golija is now ringed by roads on every side, and he spoke with road workers on site. He added a brief assessment of what has been accomplished so far.

We’ve left a lot undone, but in the end I’m happy.

Day began at the Uvac canyon

The second day of the visit opened at Uvac, where the president posted on social media before continuing his tour.

Uvac is one of those places that best shows how rich Serbia is in natural beauty. It’s up to us to protect it, to take care of it, and to leave it to the generations that come after us.

Announcing the rest of the day’s schedule, he added:

We started the day at Uvac, and now we’re moving on, among the people, to talk, to hear what they have to say, and to work together on what matters for their lives.

What was said at Dubnica Monastery

At 10 am the president visited Dubnica Monastery in the village of Bozetici, in the Nova Varos municipality. He was welcomed by Mileseva Bishop Atanasije Rakita and Nova Varos Municipality President Branko Bjelic. The monastery, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was built in 1422 and holds the status of an immovable cultural heritage site. Ahead of the Great Migration of the Serbs in 1690, Patriarch Arsenije Carnojevic spent a winter there, and the shrine’s restoration ran from September 2003 to August 2007.

Atanasije spoke to the president about the monastery’s history, and the conversation soon turned to what local residents are lacking. Vucic said that people in Bozetici and the surrounding villages need water most of all, and roads only after that.

They say there are 3,500 head of cattle here and that Bozetici is one of the strongest local communities in this area. But water is the problem.

Asked what the Mileseva shrine needs, the bishop said the roof has to be finished but that weather had gotten in the way. The president also asked about completing the Mileseva road, and laid out the order in which that is planned.

The Mileseva road will be finished, from the Pljevlja Junction to Jabuka, and we’ll also finish the stretch to Kamena Gora.

Atanasije gave Vucic an icon of Saint Sava as a gift, which the president kissed, and he then lit a candle in the monastery, spoke with the clergy, and handed over aid he had brought with him. On Instagram after the visit, he wrote that the state will always stand behind the Eparchy of Mileseva in restoring its shrines.

The rest of day two’s schedule

At 11:30 am, a visit to the Arsovic farm in the Ivanjica village of Kusici was planned. That was to be followed by a visit to the Matis company in Ivanjica, and at 2 pm, an inspection of work on the Kaona-Luke road.

Still on the agenda:

• the Guca foundry industrial plant in Lucani
• construction of the Svrackovo dam and reservoir on the Veliki Rzav river near Arilje
• Sportex, a sportswear company in Arilje

On the first day of the visit, Monday, the president was in Prijepolje, Priboj and Nova Varos. For the Ivanjica-Sjenica road, the 25-month deadline from the start of construction in June 2025 remains the only firm date mentioned on site.