The Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Zorana Mihajlovic has signed a commercial agreement in Sofia with Chinese partners stipulating the construction of the third segment of the Belgrade-Budapest railroad, stretching from Novi Sad to Subotica, worth 943 million euro.
“The construction of the Belgrade-Budapest high-speed railroad is the most important and most valuable infrastructural project currently being carried out in Serbia and the region. This project is important not just for Serbia, but also for connecting with the region and the EU and the connecting of central Europe with the port of Piraeus, as part of the Chinese initiative One Belt, One Road. The construction on the 75-km segment from Belgrade to Novi Sad, built by Chinese and Russian companies, has already started. We also have an agreement on the remaining 108.1 kilometres, on which the works might start in 2019”, Mihajlovic said.
She underlined that the modernization of the railway on Corridor 10 would facilitate an increase in rail cargo transport, that is, make Serbia a true transit country when it comes to railway transport.
Mihajlovic also said that the intensive negotiations with the Chinese about the agreement took nearly year and that Serbia has managed to secure the most favourable conditions possible.
“At the summit, Serbia has solidified its position as China’s most important partner when it comes to infrastructural projects and I believe that this project will be a good example to other Chinese projects in the region”, Mihajlovic says.
The modernization and the reconstruction of the Novi Sad-Subotica railway will be carried out by the consortium of Chinese companies comprising of China Railway International and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), which is also carrying out the works on the Belgrade-Stara Pazova section.
In addition to Mihajlovic and the Chinese consortium, the commercial agreement on this project was also signed by the acting general director of the Infrastructure of Serbian Railways, Miroljub Jevtic.
In Sofia, Mihajlovic also signed the Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China stipulating a joint support to the construction of the Industrial Park for Fruit and Vegetables, the Ministry of Construction announced.
(RTS, 07.07.2018)
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