2018: THE YEAR AHEAD

The Office for Local Economic Development and Projects marked the completion of the year with a cocktail organized at the Nis Officers‘Mess Building, attended by numerous guests, representatives of local self-government, institutions, business community. After the welcoming addresses by Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and Mr. Heskens, the advisor to the Serbian president for investments, the Head of the Office for Local Economic Development and Projects Mr. Milan Randjelovic and Deputy Head of the Office Mr. Ivan Petkovic, presented the most important investment and development projects that OLRDP implemented this year and was planning for the following year. The Office for Local Economic Development was established in February 2009 with the technical and professional assistance of the USAID MEGA Program in the form of a special section within the Office of the Mayor. In the period from 2009 to 2016, the departments of the Office for Local Economic Development and Projects functioned as separate organizational units, while the Office itself had from 3 to 7 employees. By amending the Statute of the City of Nis at the end of 2016, it was decided to improve the organizational structure of the city administration in order to improve efficiency. Thus, the Office for Local Economic Development and Projects of the City of Nis was formed. The office currently has 35 employees, a budget of 750 million dinars and thus necessary material and personnel resources, as the independent body of the City, to implement the most important city projects in close cooperation with the City Administration. Since its establishment until today, the Office has participated in or led the preparation and implementation of the most important projects and investments in the city, such as YURA CORPORATION, SHINWON, BENETTON, JOHNSON ELECTRIC, LEONI, INTEGRATED MICRO ELECTRONICS, ZUMTOBEL, followed by development projects, among which the most important were Waste Water Treatment and  Scientific Technology Park , but it also worked intensively to support the local business community and existing investors. All these projects are projects of national importance and their realization is successful primarily because of the excellent cooperation that the Office has with the Development Agency of Serbia – former SIEPA, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Serbia.