May 15 (SeeNews) - Serbia's government said Turkey has expressed interest in supporting the expansion of Morava airport in Kraljevo, in southern Serbia.
The Turkish government will support Turkish companies wishing to invest in Serbia and is interested in the development of Morava airport, as well as in the construction of the Tutin-Zlatibor-Sjenica motorway, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, as quoted in a statement by the Serbian government on Saturday. Serbian prime minister Aleksandar Vucic met with Erdogan on Friday in Beijing within the framework of the Belt and Road Forum organised by the Chinese government.
Moreover, Serbia expects to sign in the coming months in Belgrade a free trade agreement with Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the government said.
In February, Turkey's ambassador to Serbia Tanzu Bilgic said Turkish companies are still interested in participating in the development of the Morava airport in Kraljevo, in southern Serbia, despite the technical obstacles for the project.
The Morava airport started handling small commercial aircraft with up to 100 seats in 2011, when the first phase of its reconstruction was completed. Under the second phase, the existing runway will be broadened to 45 metres from 30 metres, enabling the handling of the largest aircraft. In 2015, the Serbian government announced plans to open Morava Airport by mid-2016, but the second phase of the reconstruction has not started yet.