That EXPO 2027 is the most prominent “star” of next year’s budget and an absolute priority for the government is evident from the list of ministries whose budgets will contribute to financing this project.
The Fiscal Council, in its analysis of the 2025 Budget Law, determined that the state plans to allocate 46 billion dinars from the Ministry of Finance’s budget for EXPO next year. Additionally, 18.6 billion dinars are earmarked for the National Football Stadium as an integral part of the project. Furthermore, 2 billion dinars will be allocated by the Ministry of Internal and External Trade.
However, these are not the only costs associated with EXPO. The project also includes the construction of linear infrastructure for the complex, as highlighted in the Revised Fiscal Strategy for 2025. This strategy lists it among 56 infrastructure projects the state intends to finance and develop over the next three years.
“In addition to these costs, 12.4 billion dinars are appropriated for linear infrastructure, though there are no detailed explanations about what this entails. Based on the renaming of certain budget items compared to earlier plans, it can only be assumed that this pertains to the ancillary infrastructure required for EXPO and the National Stadium,” the Fiscal Council noted in its assessment of the 2025 Budget Proposal. The document specifies that linear infrastructure includes sewage systems, roadways, electrical and gas installations, and similar facilities.
Reduced investments in healthcare due to EXPO
The prioritisation of these projects has, however, resulted in reduced investment in other sectors that require substantial funding. For example, public investments in healthcare are declining, while the education and environmental protection sectors show only slight increases in capital expenditures. The Fiscal Council believes this growth could have been more significant.
“Investments directed towards the EXPO international exhibition and its associated infrastructure occupy a significant place in the 2025 budget. For the EXPO Belgrade 2027 project, 46 billion dinars in public investment is planned under the Ministry of Finance’s budget for 2025,” stated the Fiscal Council.
This amount represents the second third of the total estimated investment, with one third planned for this year and the final third for 2026.
“In addition to these capital expenditures, several other items in the Budget Law are directly related to the EXPO International Exhibition. These include the National Football Stadium (18.6 billion dinars in public investments), support for the EXPO implementation (2 billion dinars), and roadways leading to the complex, costing 18.4 billion dinars.”
EXPO funded from various budgets
“This group likely also includes projects for linear infrastructure amounting to 12.4 billion dinars and the construction of an aquarium with accompanying facilities costing an additional 2.3 billion dinars.” When the values of all these projects are summed up, the total reaches nearly 100 billion dinars in capital expenditures related to EXPO in the 2025 budget. According to the plans, a similar amount will be invested in 2026. For comparison, this figure exceeds the annual investment expenditure of the general government in education and environmental protection combined,” the Fiscal Council noted.
Apart from the Ministry of Finance, funding for the Surčin project will also come from the budgets of other ministries, such as the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Mining and Energy, Ministry of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure, as well as the Ministry of Internal and External Trade, previously headed by Tomislav Momirović until recently.
(Forbes Serbia, 26.11.2024)