A joint agreement on the construction of the Belgrade subway will be signed on January 22 by the Government of Serbia, City of Belgrade, the Chinese company PowerChina and the French company Alstom, Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali told Tanjug news agency.
Serbian Construction Minister Tomislav Momirovic expects the initial works to start in the third quarter of 2021.
In a statement for Tanjug, Momirovic says that it is still early to come out with deadlines, but adds that, according to certain estimates, the first subway line in Belgrade, from Makisko Polje to Mirijevo, could be finished within three years of the beginning of the works.
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Mali also says that Serbian experts will go to France to meet with the French experts and vice versa and the first visit is expected to take place this February.
He also points out that Alstom is already working on the models and the specifications related to the subway system.
Mali goes on to say that, ten days ago, the interstate agreement on the realization of infrastructural projects with France was ratified. The agreement was signed on November 26, 2020.
The value of the agreement is EUR 581 million, of which EUR 127 million will go towards boosting the efficiency of the power distribution grid, whereas EUR 454 million will be spent on the construction of the first subway line.
Regarding the French-Chinese cooperation on the project, Momirovic says that the optimal solution was sought, because, as he points out, the Chinese can be partners when it comes to the execution of the works since they offered the lowest price and can provide favourable investment loans.
On the other hand, he adds, the French will be “the brain of the system”, as they are very successful in that segment of the project.
(Dnevnik, 05.01.2021)
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