Multimedia
	Interview with Irina Astrakhan
	Bor Region
Bor Regional Development Project Q&A

Citizens of Bor and Majdanpek, copper mining towns in South-East Serbia, have been living with land, water and air pollution for decades. Apart from that, this is one of the poorest areas in the country and unemployment rates reached at one point 50 percent. With $43 million the World Bank is supporting the Government of Serbia in improving lives of the people living in this region.

Mining company RTB is the largest polluter in the region and the towns of Bor and Majdanpek are black holes, with sulphur dioxide exceeding four times the permitted levels. Less visible, but not less hazardous, are the waste substances which leak from the tailing ponds into the soil of the surrounding villages and into the two local rivers, ending up in the Danube.

Environment pollution is not the only problem of the Bor region. Unemployment is high and new jobs are scarce. Bor has 12.500 registered unemployed and RTB is the biggest employer.

A few years ago, the Serbian government asked the World Bank to assist in resolving the problems of this part of the country. The World Bank team prepared a project and the $10 million IDA credit and $33 million IBRD loan for Bor Regional Development project (total of $43 million) were approved by the Board of Directors on June 20, 2007.

The Bor Regional Development Project aims to support the Government of Serbia’s (GoS) efforts to revive the depressed Bor region through: 1) dealing with urgent environmental and social legacy issues arising from mining sector restructuring, and 2) fostering new sources of economic growth and job creation in the region. Direct benefits include improved environmental conditions in the region, a reduction in the number of unemployed people, and growth of the local small and medium enterprises’ (SME) sector. Indirectly, the project will help increase the general level of economic activity in the region, attract additional investments and donor assistance, and reduce the need for state subsidies.

The Project has three main components:

• Environmental Management and Remediation Component ($30.9 million)
• Socio-Economic Remediation Component ($10.56 million)
• Project Implementation and Evaluation Component ($1.14 million)