ECIKS - Archives of news from Kosovar economy and business

Prishtina, July 12. 2005 - The process of incorporation of Post and Telecom of Kosovo (PTK) and Prishtina Airport has been finished and it cost over €4 million. These companies have been transferred into holding companies and they were registered on 28 June 2005 as holding companies according to UNMIK Regulation No. 2001/6.

“The incorporation of PTK is a very important moment, in order to face international competition,” said UNMIK Pillar IV Chief, Joachim Ruecker.

In addition, Paul Nelles, the KTA Deputy Director, said that all public companies benefit from incorporation. “The PTK will remain a holding company made up of four business units with separate accounts,” he said.

The Minister of Economy and Finance Haki Shatri said that the Kosovo Government supports the process of incorporation of public enterprises. PTK Managing Director, Gavin Jeffrey, said that PTK now has a possibility to be managed in a transparent way by a regular managing board.

The PTK Board consists of two representatives of PTK, three Government representatives, two KTA representatives, and one UNMIK representative.

Other enterprises expected to be incorporated are the company for central heating, KEK, UNMIK Railways and a number of the water, waste and irrigation enterprises.

PTK and Prishtina Airport financed the incorporation with their own revenues. The EAR finances the project of Railways, KEK and Central Heating, while the Bank for Reconstruction will finance the projects for water, waste and irrigation enterprises.

Express reports about the incorporation of PTK in an article entitled The Incorporation of a Monopoly. “The PTK has had a monopoly for the time being, but maybe this will not last,” said Ruecker.

Under the headline Incorporation Is Good, but Requires Millions, the Kosovar daily “Epoka e Re” quotes Paul Nelles as saying that the incorporation has its price, since the international experts have been involved in this process. According to Nelles, the process of incorporation costs €2 million for each company.

Prishtina Airport gets international license in 2006

According to sources from UNMIK Pillar IV, it is likely that the International Airport of Prishtina will get the international license by mid or end 2006. Meanwhile, the money needed for this process remains another issue.

KTA Deputy Director, Paul Nelles, confirmed this information. He said that it would be easier to address other issues following the incorporation of the company.

“We hope that AP will get licensed by 2006,” said Nelles. ”Financial means are a problem, but we have already started to review eventual possibilities for getting financial means from different international banking and financing institutions.”

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