August 1^st

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic signed the contract with internally displaced persons who were granted the right to be helped to improve the living conditions while being internally displaced through the grant of assistance in the purchase of rural houses with a garden and additional help for the material for the adaptation of these houses. The value of the project is 11.3 million dinars, and this type of assistance was received by 10 beneficiaries, 180000 dinars for each of them. Also, the contracts for assistance to improve the living conditions of internally displaced persons by granting them building materials packages were signed today. The value of this project is 5.5 million dinars, per beneficiary ranging from 180000 to 550000 dinars. This assistance was received by 15 beneficiaries. The funds were jointly provided by the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration and the City of Nis.

August 1^st

Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, prof. Dr Zorana Mihajlovic said today that Nis Airport Constantine the Great was an example of how the cooperation between the state, local self-government, state and local companies has yielded good results, because in three years the number of passengers increased from 1,300 in 2014 to more than 183,000.  “We worked as a team – the Government of Serbia, the City of Nis, Nikola Tesla Airport, Constantine the Great Airport, the Civil Aviation Directorate, SMATSA – with the common goal of developing Nis Airport according to all standards”, Mihajlovic said after the visit to Nis Airport cargo terminal and at the signing of the contract on the donation of equipment worth 400,000 euros by the Belgrade airport. Mihajlovic said that the investments in the furnishing of the Nis airport will surely continue, as the number of passengers and goods constantly increases. “We will soon choose the project designer for the tower to be built next year, which is one of the conditions for Nis Airport to be completely ready to become a Belgrade Reserve Airport,” she said. “The plan for the next four years is to invest 6.3 million into Nis Airport to make it even more developed and more modern than it is now “, added Mihajlovic.

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic thanked Nikola Tesla Airport for donations and Vice-President Mihajlovic for the support to the citizens of Nis and the whole region of South Serbia. “After so many years of stagnation, Nis and the south of Serbia have a reason to hope and see a prospect and a better future. I would like to express my gratitude to the Belgrade airport on the donation and to the Ministry and the Government for support without which we would not survive all the difficult years that are behind us. Today, Nis airport is a real airport and an example of how to fight for a better standard and living conditions “, Mayor Bulatovic said. He added that the city budget for the next year will no longer have costs for peoples’ salaries at the airport, and that the city would invest only in equipment and reaching the highest standards.

Saša Vlaisavljevic, acting general manager of the Aiport Nikola Tesla, said that both Belgrade and Nis airports are part of the air traffic system of Serbia and that with the support of the Government and the Ministry they record best business results. “Both the City of Nis and Nis Airport can count on us, and in autumn I expect to come again, with fire trucks, “said Vlaisavljevic. Vladica Djurdjanovic, the general manager of Nis Airport Constantine the Great, thanked the Belgrade airport for donations and the Government of Serbia for many years of support, adding that without this assistance, the Nis airport would not have had the results it has today, more than 183,000 passengers and nearly two thousand tons of goods transported for the first seven months of 2017. The donation of Nikola Tesla Airport to Constantine the Great Airport for which the contract was signed by the directors of two companies, Sasa Vlaisavljevic and Vladica Djurdanovic, is worth 400,000 euros and includes, among other things, X-ray machines for inspection of goods and mail, X-ray for inspection of luggage, three metal detector doors, as well as detectors for explosives for checking the hand luggage.

August 1^st

According to the data of the Republic Bureau of Statistics, in June, a record number of people who are not from Serbia visited Nis. According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, “tourism turnover” increased by almost 60% in June, mostly thanks to foreign tourists. Even 67% more people visited Nis this June than last June. In figures, this is 6 300 tourists. In June this year Nis was visited by more citizens of Serbia than in the same period last year. It is even 49 percent more or 4,200 people. According to the Tourism Organization of Nis, from month to month, there are more and more tourists in the city, and this trend is noticeable starting from 2013, when Nis was categorized with the first category. In 2013, 60,000 tourists visited Nis, while three years later this figure was increased to 85,000. In the first six months of this year, there were 80,000 overnights in Nis, which positively reflects on the economy of the city because the city administration is collecting almost 12 million dinars from tourist tax paid by tourists. The number of tourists increased in Niska Banja by as much as 65 %, with the number of domestic tourists increasing by 115 and foreigners by 1,6 percent compared to June last year.

August 1^st

The City of Nis will continue to support the activities of young, talented people who achieve top results at prestigious international and domestic competitions in various fields of science or sport, as it was said today at a reception hosted at the Nis City Hall for some of them who participated in conferences outside the country in recent months with the support of the City of Nis. In the last two months, the City of Nis, through its Youth Office, supported the participation of as many as 57 young talents at various gatherings and competitions, and, as said, in the next year, they would seek to increase the funds for this purpose. The City of Nis is trying to help young talented people continue their development and improve their knowledge beyond the borders of our country, but also to create the necessary conditions for the development of science in Nis. Young talented people are a valuable human resource that needs to be presented and assisted in every way so that they would stay in their own city, present their results here. The care for the young must be systematic and continuous in order to improve their position and ensure their active participation in society.

July 29^th

The leading European producer of cables and cable systems for the automotive and other industries, Leoni, opened its third factory in Serbia on Saturday, July 29, 2017, in Nis, in the presence of President Aleksandar Vucic. The value of the investment is EUR 22 million, and the factory will employ 2,200 people. By pressing a button, Vucic initiated the first phase of the production in the new factory. The factory, which takes up over 22,000 square meters, will produce cable sets for BMW cars.

Leoni has been present in Serbia since 2009, when the BMW cable system factory in Prokuplje started operating. In 2013, a factory for the production of car cables for Land Rover and Jaguar opened in Malosiste near Doljevac. The total value of Leoni’s investments in Serbia so far amounts to EUR 75 million, and the newly raised factory in Nis will soon turn Leoni into the biggest employer in the production sector in Serbia with nearly 8,000 employees.

“Our goal is not just to be the biggest employer in Serbia, but to be the best employer – said Clemens Sachs”, director of Leoni in Serbia.

In the first quarter of the current year, the Leoni Group had net revenues of EUR 33.6 million, three times as much as in the corresponding period of 2016. Leoni is a global producer of wirings, optical fibers, cables and cable systems and similar components for the automotive industry and other related industries. The company has around 80,000 employees in 90 factories in 32 countries. Last year, Leoni had sales revenues of EUR 4.4 billion. The company was founded in 1917 in Nuremberg and is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

The official ceremony of putting the factory into operation was also attended by Minister of Economy Goran Knezevic, Clemens Sachs, executive vice president of Leoni, Ralf Maus, standing deputy ambassador of Germany, Alexander Jung, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, Marko Cadez, and Mayor of Nis Darko Bulatovic.

July 28^th

In the presence of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic, the Minister of Economy in the Government of the Republic of Serbia Goran Knezevic and a representative of the Austrian company Zumtobel signed an agreement on the construction of the company’s factory in Nis.

Later on the representatives of the Austrian lighting group Zumtobel Group and of the government of Serbia marked the start of construction work on a new production plant at a groundbreaking ceremony in Niš. Within the next two and a half financial years the plant is to be built on a site in the southern industrial zone of Nis. When the facility is complete, it will cover 40,000 square metres at a cost of EUR 30 million. The first products are due to come off the production line at the new factory in the 2018/19 financial year. The plant will be built in two phases covering the next two and a half financial years.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, Zumtobel Group CEO Ulrich Schumacher was joined by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and the Austrian Ambassador to Serbia, Johannes Eigner. The entire Management Board of the lighting group was also present in Nis, along with representatives of the Supervisory Board.

“I am delighted to be marking the start of construction of our new plant with today’s groundbreaking ceremony. This investment is one of the most important strategic steps in the redirection of the Zumtobel Group’s production network. The plant in Serbia will enable us to position ourselves successfully on the market in the long term and further improve our competitiveness. Construction of the plant forms part of our global strategy and the new facility will make the ideal complement for our existing production network. Serbia is at the heart of the region of Eastern Europe and offers numerous additional strategic advantages that will help make this project a success”, said Zumtobel Group CEO Ulrich Schumacher.

The plant in Serbia is primarily to handle the additional production volumes planned for the coming years. In a market environment marked by high pressure on prices, this new site will offer the Zumtobel Group the opportunity to supply its core European market at optimal cost. At the same time, this move will reinforce the lighting group’s presence in the dynamic growth market of Eastern Europe.

July 24^th

The opening of a new Startup Center in Nis planned for September this year will provide the conditions for job creation and the development of innovative entrepreneurship in this city, said Nenad Popovic, Minister of Innovation and Technological Development in the Government of the Republic of Serbia on the occasion of today’s Public Call to Use Services and Networking at the Center for Innovative Youth Entrepreneurship (Startup Center) at the Faculty of Electronic Engineering in Nis.

At a media conference at the Nis City Hall Minister Popovic said that the first startup companies will move to this center in September and that their work will be directed to export and to the domestic market. “These are new jobs, which will secure the stay of young talented people in Nis, but this is also a continuation of the tradition of this city as an innovation and technology center,” he said. Popovic pointed out that the Republic of Serbia Government recognized the opening of this innovation center as a great opportunity for employment of young people, the development of IT industry and digital economy in this region. “We see this as a chance that the economy of Nis and this region becomes high-tech again, capable of exporting its products to the world,” Popovic said. He expressed his gratitude to the most deserving people for this project, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Ana Brnabic. “The launching of this call and the opening of the center in September represent the direct result of the visit by President Vucicto Nis and his promise that this project will be realized, as well as the result of what Prime Minister Ana Brnabic pointed out when she spoke about innovation and technological development,” concluded  Minister Popovic.

The importance of opening the Startup Center in Nis was also addressed by Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and prof. Dr. Goran Djordjevic, Assistant Mayor for Science and Advanced Technology and Professor at the Faculty of Electronic Engineering in Nis.

July 18^th

The reception for participants of the 10^th International Student Folklore Festival was organized at Nis City Hall. The participants of the festival were greeted by Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic. This traditional event in Nis brings together a large number of folklore ensembles from other countries who have the opportunity to show the most beautiful of their traditions and how customs are fostered in the countries from which they come. Gathering at the Festival every year, young people nurture old friendships, get new friends and at least once a year they hang out together in our city. This year there are ensembles from 10 countries: Argentina, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Cyprus, Poland, Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Serbia. Performances will be held in Nis, as well as in Bela Palanka and Knjazevac. This is an opportunity for the people of Nis, as well as for the fans of ethno songs and dances in the surrounding cities, to enjoy a rich program. For many of the participants this is an opportunity to visit Serbia for the first time and get to know Nis and its surroundings, people, history of the famous culinary specialties.

July 14^th

The 10^th International Folklore Festival NIS 2017 will be held from July 16^th to 20^th. There will be ensembles from 10 countries: Argentina, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Cyprus, Poland, Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Serbia. Concerts will be held in Nis, Bela Palanka and Knjazevac. At the press conference held at Nis City Hall the Festival was announced by the director of the Students’ Cultural Center, Dragana Petkovic and Nis City Council Member for Culture Jelena Mitrovski. The opening is scheduled for July 16^th in Nis, with the promotional walk of the ensembles through Main Street and the concert. The closing concert is on July 20^th on the plateau in front of the Church of Saint Emperor Constantine and Empress Teodora in the park of Saint Sava in Nis.

July 14^th

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic together with the State Secretary in the Ministry of Economy, Dragan Stevanovic, visited the construction of a sewerage network for the new plant Leoni in Nis for waste water and atmospheric waters. The total value of the project is – RSD 36,421,138.60 without VAT, out of that amount, the Ministry of Economy allocated RSD 20,891,165.10, and the City of Nis provided the amount of RSD 15,529,973, 50. The sewage network for waste waters will be built along the section from Correctional Penitentiary Institute up to Leoni Factory in the length of 444m and the sewage network of atmospheric waters in the length of 714,50m. The deadline for the completion of these works is September 1, 2017.