Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić has said that he believes that the government will be strong enough and willing enough to finalise the privatisation of spa resorts, adding that our spas need new investments, but also partners.

That, as he has explained, means not only the privatisation and sale of spas but also public-private partnership.

“The wish is that the government participates in the reconstruction and construction of spas together with private partners”, Mr Ljajić has said. In means, he added, various types of strategic partnerships and investments of foreign capital and the government.

“At some points it will involve selling and full privatisation”, Minister has explained.

“What we must resolve here is the property-legal relations in a dozen of spas and that is something we are working on at this point. It is not a simple thing to make everything legally ready”, says Mr Ljajić, explaining that that a good thing is that we have interested partners and foreign and domestic investors and buyers.

Deputy Prime Minister says that he is in contact with them, they talk, visit the destinations, but remain silent.

“We don’t want to raise expectations, since more or less those are people showing interest in investing. Once we have a concrete thing, or make a practical step, we will inform the public”, says Mr Ljajić.

He has assessed that, if you ask the management and workers of spas, nobody would accept privatisation and a change of the old status since, as one can notices, everybody would like “the status quo”. However, that would, the minister is assured, lead to a complete deterioration of spas which are an important touristic resource.

Mr Ljajić is also assured that we could definitely find buyers if we had regulated the property legal relations.

“We need only another step to make. Of course there are obstructions, but I believe the government will be strong and willing enough to bring this work to an end”, Minister concluded.