OLIGARCHEN: Miroslav Miskovi eröffent seine DELTA Supermärkte auch im Kosovo

Delta Maxi Managing Director Dragan Filipović said that Delta would invest EUR 10mn in the construction of the supermarket in the all-Serb town in northern Kosovo, expected to span some 3,000 sqm, creating 150 new jobs.

Locals in Zvečan are delighted that someone from Serbia is finally prepared to invest money in the region.

Municipal President Dragiša Milović told B92 that the supermarket was due to built on the site of the Trepče mine, that negotiations were ongoing, and that an agreement was expected in the next fortnight.

Given that it will be the first supermarket in Kosovo, Milović expects not only Serbs, but Albanians too, to shop there.

“I believe that it will be used by people from Zvečan, Leposavić, Zubin Potok, northern Kosovska Mitrovica, our Serbs who live south of the Ibar deep in the enclaves, as well as Kosovo’s other citizens,” he predicted.

“Even now there is cooperation between Serbs and Albanians, admittedly at a low level, while commerce is developing normally, and this is something that should be brought within a legal framework. Business knows no borders, and I hope that it will be the same in this case,” the municipal president said.

Economic analyst Goran Nikolić believes that the expansion of the biggest Serbian companies in Kosovo is motivated not only by economic, but political factors.

“Serbia has considerable trade with Kosovo, the surplus this year could be around EUR 400mn. So it’s an economic issue that, of course, implies job creation for Serbs from Zvečan and the surrounding area,” he points out.

“There is a political side too, as we’re talking about northern Kosovo where the Serbs live, so that, in an economic sense, this will support the Serb population there,” Nikolić says.

He says that Delta has cottoned on to the fact that the Kosovo market is very attractive because of the small supply and big demand.

Moreover, Serbian products are very well-known in Kosovo, so it is logical that a wholesale center is being built parallel to the supermarket.

“It’s an attempt to cover the market, and in quite an interesting manner—via a Serb municipality. Moreover, there’s wholesale center too, so that Delta could, in any case, easily supply the rather small territory that Kosovo covers. It would be no problem to cover the other parts of Kosovo in terms of traffic and infrastructure,” Nikolić believes.