Serbian roads to get Chinese funding

Talks between the Chinese Development Bank and the Serbian Government could result in €400-€450 million of Chinese funding for Serbian highway projects. The Danube coast and the Corridor 11 projects are among those earmarked for a potential cash boost. Serbia’s Ministry for Transport (MOT) is also in talks with Chinese partners about other highway builds including100km of the Belgrade-Cacak, Belgrade-Obrenovac, Preljina-Ljig and Lajkovac-Ljig routes, as well as the 100km Pojate-Preljina project. China Road
November 28, 2012 Read time: 2 mins

Talks between the Chinese Development Bank and the Serbian Government could result in €400-€450 million of Chinese funding for Serbian highway projects. The Danube coast and the Corridor 11 projects are among those earmarked for a potential cash boost.

Serbia’s Ministry for Transport (MOT) is also in talks with Chinese partners about other highway builds including100km of the Belgrade-Cacak, Belgrade-Obrenovac, Preljina-Ljig and Lajkovac-Ljig routes, as well as the 100km Pojate-Preljina project. 3366 China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) is the contractor showing strongest interest in the Pojate-Preljina regional highway, while a loan for the project may well come from China's Exim Bank with a repayment period of 18 years.

Extensive research into the cost of highway construction in the country has been conducted by Serbia’s MOT, revealing huge variations depending on topography and geology. The Serbia MOT has reported that the cost of construction of highways in Vojvodina county ranges from €1.5-€2.5 million/km, while in Grdelicka Klisura costs range between €10 million and €15 million/km. Meanwhile, in the mountainous terrain between Ljig and Cacak highway construction costs around €7.5 million/km. However, the straight highway section from Obrenovac-Ljig is also costing around €7.5 million/km. Serbian contractors are building the 12km stretch of highway from Ub-Lajkovac for around €5.8 million/km.

Meanwhile Serbia's national state owned highway company, 3235 Koridori Srbije, has awarded the contract for advisory services for the €1.9 billion Corridor 10 project to French company 2643 Egis International. Under the terms of the deal, Egis will provide support for construction of 83.4km of the E-80 highway between the City of Nis and the Bulgarian border at Dimitrovgrad. Egis will also oversee work on construction of sections of the E-75 highway between Leskovac and the Macedonian border.

In a further development, Serbian roads company Putevi Srbije claims that 112km of roads have been built in Serbia since 2000 - equivalent to just 9.3km/year. Putevi Srbije's data shows that the country has a total of 610km of highways, 50% less than Croatia. The authorities have promised construction of modern highways from Horgos towards the Bulgarian and Macedonian borders, and a highway towards the South Adriatic. They have been criticised for insufficient organisation of road construction.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • India’s infrastructure programme continues
    October 26, 2020
    The Indian Government continues to show high levels of aggressiveness for developing its road infrastructure.
    Read More
  • Great opportunities in Asia, conference goers are told
    January 23, 2014
    Asia’s emerging economies will be building roads for the next two decades, delegates at a recent Argus Asian Bitumen conference in Singapore heard. That means there are big opportunities for suppliers of bitumen, related technology and risk management companies - Kristina Smith reports One of the strongest messages to emerge from the Argus Asian Bitumen conference held in Singapore earlier this year is the sheer volume of road building planned in the region. For many countries there are political and finan
    Read More
  • Loan for Bosnia motorway project
    May 9, 2019
    A loan agreement has been signed to help pay for a new motorway project in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing the Bosnia and Herzegovina Government with a loan worth €210 million for next stage of Corridor Vc project. According to the EBRD, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s further economic integration with the Western Balkans and the rest of Europe will take an important step forward due to this loan for. The development of Corridor Vc is a strategic
    Read More
  • US$766.15bn to be invested in China road network expansion
    June 24, 2013
    Over the next 17 years, China will invest US$766.15 billion (CNY 4.70tn) to expand the country's major road network by over two times. By 2030, the length of roads in China is expected to total 5.8 million kilometres, with trunk ways and highways making up 7% of the total. Provincial and countryside roads are expected to account for 9% and 84% respectively. According to a road expansion blueprint approved in May 2013 by the State Council, the length of toll-free trunk ways and toll highways should by 2030 i
    Read More

Highlighted Content