Dimitrieska – Kochoska for British Loan: There will be no further increase in capital expenditures

Finance Minister Gordana Dimitrieska – Kochoska said today on a journalist’s question on how the agreement with the UK will be implemented that there will be no further increase in capital expenditures.

– Regarding what the projections are within the fiscal strategy and now whether this will mean an additional increase in capital expenditures, no, it will not mean an additional increase in one single reason. We very often have desires from certain institutions that they want to make some realization, but with the public investment decree we brought a few months ago, we clearly prescribed the way. Earlier it was anyone who wants to bring in the budget, quarrels, so we need, we don’t need it, etc. With the public investment decree prescribed, it means that every institutes should report on an explanation to the Ministry of Finance why that investment is needed. Then there is a special body within the government that will consider all those wishes and intentions for investment and will determine and propose what priorities are. That is how we first change the way we make investment decisions – explained Dimitrieska – Kochoska.

She pointed out that there have been projects that have begun in the past, but have not been completed for years.

– We don’t want it to repeat. And as I came to the Ministry of Finance, that decree was previously worked out by the previous minister, we pressed to complete even faster so that we could impose that obligation on institutions to respect that path of documentation and reporting. In this way we think that those not so important at the moment of capital expenditures or investments will be left. As a result, the others we are negotiating will fit in with this agreement, which would say the Strategic Cooperation Agreement, which is at the beginning, now we agree, but we all remain for the further – the finance minister explained.

Regarding how the budget deficit and public debt increase, Dimitrijeska – Kochoska explained that they are increasing when we have a payment. Such is the methodology and, as he said, has always been such, we do not change and remain on it.

– The first part is the funding, and then the Ministry of Transport will conduct procedures as competent. When the time comes to conclude a contract and implementation we will see if we can realize 300-400 million euros a year or be less. It will depend on the company, the people who work on the field – explained Dimitrijeska – Kochoska.

The minister expects things to end faster why this project, he said, is in a more mature phase than as much as Bechtel and Enka as she started.