Opened international passenger terminal in Sremska Mitrovica

An international passenger terminal on the Sava was opened in Sremska Mitrovica today, in the presence of the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Goran Vesić, who said that after several decades, Serbia is turning to rivers, in order to promote the development of water transport and the overall economic development of the country.

“For decades, Serbia behaved as if it didn’t have two large international rivers, as if we didn’t have that treasure that many countries would envy us.” That’s why only the eighth international port in Serbia is opening today, instead of at least 20,” said Vesić at the ceremony attended by the director of the Port Governance Agency Vuk Perović and the mayor of Sremska Mitrovica Svetlana Milovanović.

The terminal in Sremska Mitrovica is the second on the Sava, next to the one in Belgrade, and work is also underway on the project of the pier in Šabac, which will create the possibility of establishing a river connection, by boat, between Šabac and Sremska Mitrovica, that is, Belgrade.

“We are finishing Zemun, we will build a terminal in Sremski Karlovci, Ram”, announced the minister and added that this opens the possibility for tourists, who come by cruise ships, to visit not only Belgrade, but also other parts of Serbia.

Vesić pointed out that the covid crisis has completely changed the way they travel, so now tourists more often decide on shorter trips, in Europe, which is an opportunity that Serbia can and should take advantage of.

He also said that Serbia is becoming an increasingly important logistics center, which means the coordination of air, water, road and rail traffic, which will contribute to the development of the country.

“This is not just the opening of one facility, although the government invested 400,000 euros in it, but it says that we have changed our priorities and will pay more attention to our rivers,” said Vesić. He added that he recently discussed with the Hungarian minister about the establishment of the Belgrade-Budapest river line.

“We will also have domestic river lines and that will change the quality of life.” It will reduce pollution, increase people’s comfort and better connect the country. Transport connections mean not only that people are closer to each other, but also new jobs and higher salaries,” said Vesić.

He also pointed out that every foreign tourist leaves 150 to 200 euros in Serbia without accommodation costs, which means income for restaurateurs, selling souvenirs and other activities related to tourism.

He announced the continuation of investment in the “Sail through Serbia” project, which involves the construction of new piers, because, as he said, “it depends only on us how many tourists will come, who until now had the opportunity to land in the largest number of cruise ships in Belgrade, and they would have something to see outside the capital as well.”

“We turn to the rivers. And that means building factories for the processing of waste water, that we no longer pollute our rivers, that we protect them, manage them better, that we build coastal fortifications where necessary, that we repair the existing ones, that we have more marinas, nautical villages, ports and more water traffic and ensure development”, said Vesić.

The international passenger terminal in Sremska Mitrovica is located in the immediate vicinity of the city center and the Archaeological Site of the Imperial Palace of Sirmium, and is the eighth such in Serbia, and the second on the Sava River.

It will be able to accommodate two cruise ships at the same time, and in addition to international passenger traffic, the development of domestic scheduled traffic is also planned.

Director of the Port Governance Agency, Vuk Perović, said that only 20 years ago, there was only one pier in Serbia, while today Serbia is connected to the whole world by the Danube and the Sava.

The Government of Serbia invested funds in the construction of the pier in Sremska Mitrovica, and the Agency chose the port operator.

“We want to draw the towns on the Sava on the nautical maps of Europe and use the numerous nautical potentials of our country,” said Perović.