Vucic announces Paracin-Zajecar-Negotin expressway
Ahead of tonight's rally in Zajecar, the United Serbia list leader promised a road to Negotin in seven to eight years and investment for Sokobanja, Boljevac and Zajecar.
Aleksandar Vucic, head of the “Aleksandar Vucic - United Serbia” list, announced on Tuesday, October 13, a Paracin-Zajecar-Negotin expressway that, in his words, should be finished within seven to eight years. He made the promise ahead of the list’s rally in Zajecar tonight, where he will speak about six pillars of development for eastern Serbia. The rally starts at 6 p.m., so this article covers the announcement, not the speech itself.
What did Vucic say about the expressway?
Vucic addressed the public live on TikTok and Instagram on the road to Zajecar. Here is his statement in full:
“Tonight I will talk about six pillars for the east of Serbia. For me, it is important that we build the Paracin-Zajecar-Negotin road in the next 7-8 years. We have to strengthen Sokobanja, Boljevac, Zajecar. It is important that we build an expressway, and it would run Paracin-Zajecar-Negotin. I want us to encourage big investments.”
In that address Vucic did not list all six pillars. He explicitly mentioned the expressway and big investments, along with strengthening Sokobanja, Boljevac and Zajecar, and he described the project as a big and important matter for citizens. The route runs from Paracin through Zajecar to Negotin, three towns in eastern Serbia. The quoted passage gives no figure for the cost, no source of funding and no start date for construction.
The sources differ on the deadline. Vucic’s statement says “7-8 years,” while B92 reports in a separate item that the expressway will be built “in the next eight years.” We stick with the quote, a range of seven to eight years.
What will the Zajecar rally look like?
The list’s rally is scheduled for the “Timok” Sports Hall. Vucic announced the time on Instagram with the words: “See you at 6 p.m. in Zajecar!” The music program begins an hour earlier, at 5 p.m., with Ana Bekuta, Darko Lazic, Nadezda Biljic and the Gobovic sisters taking the stage in turn. According to the organizers’ announcement, the topics are the economy, infrastructure, new investments and living conditions.
B92 reports that Vucic is touring eastern Serbia before the rally. On Instagram he described one of his stops:
“The last time I toured this area, people told me the school was in very bad condition. It seems I got the wrong place, because the school in Izvor looks quite decent and was recently renovated. I will also stop by Lukovo to check whether the complaints perhaps referred to the school in that village. In any case, huge investments in schools and kindergartens across Serbia are ahead of us, because our children deserve the best conditions for learning and growing up.”
How does this fit into the campaign so far?
We have previously written about the promises from Zrenjanin, where Vucic spoke about an MRI scanner and an angio suite, and from Kragujevac. The Zajecar rally adds eastern Serbia. Vucic heads the list and is its candidate for prime minister, and Novosti reports that citizens from different parts of Serbia will gather in Zajecar. The centerpiece of the evening will be his address, in which, as announced, he will present plans for the development of eastern Serbia.
Alongside the rally announcement, Vucic posted a video on Instagram, made with artificial intelligence, in which he “flies” in a Skoda. It was his answer to claims that he went to the Kragujevac rally by state helicopter. He captioned the post: “See you in Zajecar.”
In the sources we reviewed there is no reaction to this announcement from other papers or from the opposition. What will be said about the six pillars from the stage will be known only after 6 p.m.
