Sapic: I expect to be candidate for Belgrade mayor again

BELGRADE - Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) deputy leader Aleksandar Sapic, who heads the City of Belgrade Interim Authority, expects to be a candidate for mayor again.

In an interview to Tanjug, Sapic said this should be formally confirmed in a few days' time, following a meeting of the SNS Head Committee.

He said that, realistically, April 28 was the earliest potential date for repeat local elections in Belgrade as they needed to be called by a yet-to-be-elected speaker of the national parliament.

Sapic noted that many projects in the city - including a metro system - were yet to be finished.

He said a tunnel-boring machine for the first tunnels had been ordered and that land expropriation for a large number of metro stations had been completed.

"If God is willing, we expect the first line to be completed in 2028 and the second in 2030," he said.

He noted that EXPO 2027, to be hosted by Belgrade, was an opportunity to build a whole new part of the city, including a national stadium, new fair grounds and new railway infrastructure that would connect the Prokop railway station and the Nikola Tesla Airport as well as Zemun and New Belgrade.

He said EXPO 2027 and accompanying projects were expected to boost the economies of Belgrade and the entire country.

"I really think it is a great opportunity and if we get the chance to govern the city, it will be a huge challenge for me and this will not be the same city in four years' time," Sapic said.