In the first half of this year, 13.9 billion dinars were spent from the national budget on the Belgrade Metro, and 1.5 billion dinars on the new bridge over the Sava River. On the other hand, there was no expenditure for the central sewerage system project in Belgrade during the first half of the year.
The Government of Serbia submitted to parliament the report on budget execution for 2026 for the period from 1 January to 30 June. This report, available on the National Assembly website, contains details on how much has been spent so far on various state projects out of the total amount allocated for them in 2026.
According to this data, for projects under the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, around 1.54 billion dinars had been spent by 30 June on the construction of the new bridge over the Sava in Belgrade. This represents 31.9 per cent of the 2026 budget for that project, which has an allocated total of 4.8 billion dinars this year.
13.9 billion dinars has been spent on the Belgrade Metro construction project out of the planned 26 billion dinars in 2026, amounting to 53.6 per cent of this year’s budget for the venture.
Of the total amount spent, 1.23 billion dinars relates to “transfers to other levels of government” (the City of Belgrade) for this project. Meanwhile, 826.5 million dinars was recorded under “buildings and structures”. The largest portion – 11.9 billion dinars – was spent on “machinery and equipment”.
Procurement of high-speed trains at a standstill
There was no expenditure in the first half of the year for the wastewater collection and treatment project of Belgrade’s central sewerage system. Two billion dinars was initially planned for 2026.
Expenditure data from the Ministry of Construction shows that by the end of June, no money had been spent on procuring five new electric multiple-unit trains capable of speeds up to 200 km/h. An amount of 4.35 billion dinars was set aside for this purpose this year. The Ministry also planned expenditure for the Hungarian-Serbian railway project this year, totalling 11.76 billion dinars. By 30 June, 497.7 million dinars had been spent, or 4.2 per cent of the total planned for this year.
Among the projects funded by this Ministry this year is the salvaging of the sunken German fleet from the Second World War. By the end of June, 315 million dinars had been spent from the budget out of the planned 699 million for this year.
By the end of June, one billion dinars had been spent on the Ruma–Šabac–Loznica expressway, accounting for 19.2 per cent of the 5.25 billion dinars allocated for this year.
For the Novi Sad–Ruma expressway, 7.3 billion dinars were spent by the end of June, which is almost half of the amount planned for 2026.
Railway and expressways for EXPO
Data shows that the construction of the railway between Zemun Polje and the National Stadium will cost taxpayers 17 billion dinars this year. So far, 10.14 billion dinars have been spent, representing 59.6 per cent of this year’s budget for the line.
Regarding the construction of expressways for the EXPO exhibition, out of the planned seven billion dinars this year, the Ministry of Construction had spent 2.9 billion dinars by the end of June.
Budget cuts for military service implementation
For Ministry of Defence projects in the 2026 budget, 6.36 billion dinars was initially planned for “military service” this year. However, the budget for this was subsequently reduced to four billion dinars. Of that four billion, 1.64 billion dinars, or 41 per cent, had been spent by 30 June.
Projects under this Ministry also include constructing a new building for the institution, as well as the General Staff building. A total of 7.65 billion dinars was planned for this year, but by the end of June, only 9.8 per cent of the funds (746.8 million dinars) had been spent.
In the first half of the year, there was no expenditure on army infrastructure facilities, for which 800 million dinars was initially planned in 2026.
There was also no expenditure on facilities for the Air Force and Air Defence out of the planned 473 million dinars. Data for the Ministry of Defence also shows that no funds were allocated in the first six months for building military infrastructure facilities in Priboj, Niš, and Pančevo.
One of the largest allocations within this ministry relates to equipping the Serbian Armed Forces with multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA). This includes the procurement of Rafale fighter jets from the French company Dassault Aviation. An allocation of 90 billion dinars was planned for this item this year, with 58.7 billion (65.2 per cent) spent in the first half of the year.
Additionally, out of the planned 6.96 billion dinars in 2026 for weapons and military equipment under the tripartite agreement, 4.4 billion dinars (63.3 per cent of the budget for that project) was spent by the end of June.
Ministry of Finance and EXPO spending
The Ministry of Finance’s budget includes items related to expenditure for the EXPO 2027 exhibition. Among other things, 12.9 billion dinars was planned this year for designing and constructing facilities in Zones B and E within the EXPO complex. By the end of June, nearly the entire sum – 12.84 billion dinars – had been spent.
The largest allocations for the exhibition were planned under the budget item “EXPO Belgrade 2027”, which funds facility construction in Surčin. Out of the planned 42.57 billion dinars in 2026, 10.17 billion (23.9 per cent) was spent by the end of June.
An initial allocation of 18.6 billion dinars in 2026 was planned for linear infrastructure – such as roads, storm sewers, gas, power grid installations, and heating sources. This amount was subsequently increased to 28.7 billion dinars, of which 8.37 billion dinars (29.1 per cent) was spent in the first half of the year.
In the first half of the year, this Ministry also spent 804.97 million dinars on “support for the implementation of EXPO 2027”. Specifically, 503.3 million dinars went towards subsidies to public non-financial enterprises and organisations, and 301.67 million went towards acquiring domestic non-financial assets (additional investments).
The Ministry of Finance plans to spend 21.2 billion dinars on the National Football Stadium in 2026. So far, 5.28 billion dinars (24.9 per cent) have been spent.
For the tunnel connecting Karađorđeva Street to the Danube Slope, no funds were spent in the first half of 2026 out of the planned five billion dinars.
There was also no expenditure on constructing the Ušće aquarium with its accompanying facilities. Similarly, no money has been spent so far on the new Natural History Museum building, for which 2.89 billion dinars were planned in 2026.
Watercourse management
The Ministry of Agriculture plans to invest eight billion dinars this year in “watercourse management and flood protection”. Of that, one billion dinars (13.7 per cent of the plan) was spent in the first half of the year.
In the first half of this year, no funds allocated for the Svračkovo Dam were spent, despite 701.2 million dinars being budgeted for the project from the state coffers in 2026.
Environmental expenses
In the first half of the year, the Ministry of Environmental Protection recorded an expenditure of 231.9 million dinars on incentives for purchasing eco-friendly vehicles, specifically subsidies for private companies.
For the protection and preservation of water as a natural resource, 490.8 million dinars were paid out from the state budget in the first half of the year. The entire amount represents transfers to other levels of government, i.e., funds transferred to cities and municipalities.
The ministry also transferred 349.9 million dinars to other levels of government in the first half of the year for the procurement, replacement, reconstruction, and overhaul of heating boiler rooms.
Clinical centre reconstruction
An allocation of 3.5 billion dinars was planned this year for the reconstruction of the University Clinical Centre of Serbia in Belgrade. Ministry of Health data shows that 6.7 per cent of this – 233.7 million dinars – was spent by the end of June.
Funds were also budgeted for reconstructing the Clinical Centre of Vojvodina in Novi Sad: 2.77 billion dinars this year, of which 612.4 million dinars was spent by the end of June.
Furthermore, 100 million dinars was allocated in 2026 for the reconstruction of the University Clinical Centre in Niš, but no funds have been spent to date.
Cost of energy transition
The report also details expenditure made by the Ministry of Mining and Energy.
For the development of the biomass market – a project funded by a loan from the German development bank KfW – the ministry initially planned spending of 538.9 million dinars in 2026. By the end of June, 4.5 million dinars had been spent.
Expenditure for design and technical documentation for the construction of the Đerdap 3 pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant was set at one million dinars this year; however, no money had been spent on this by the end of June.
(Forbes Serbia, 03.08.2026)