Skip to main content

Progress on Serbia’s Zezeljev bridge replacement is slow

Construction of the Zezeljev rail and road bridge across the Danube River is facing further delays, according to the Serbian government. Work on the 470m-long new bridge was supposed to be finished by this month. But national elections and changes of government have hampered progress, Serbian media have reported. The original bridge was completed in 1961 as a single-track railway line and separate roadway between the cities of Novi Sad and Petrovaradin. NATO attacked the structure five times during its camp
August 30, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

Construction of the Zezeljev rail and road bridge across the Danube River is facing further delays, according to the Serbian government.

Work on the 470m-long new bridge was supposed to be finished by this month. But national elections and changes of government have hampered progress, Serbian media have reported.

The original bridge was completed in 1961 as a single-track railway line and separate roadway between the cities of Novi Sad and Petrovaradin. NATO attacked the structure five times during its campaign against Yugoslavia, of which Serbia was a member. The bridge was damaged first on 20 April 1999 and finally destroyed four days later, according to Edgar Martin, a waterways transportation consultant working in the Balkans.

Construction of the new bridge forms part of an 3287 EU strategy for the Danube Region. The replacement project was delayed initially because of work to remove wreckage of the old bridge in the Danube.

Completion of the bridge is not now likely to be in the spring of next year. Spanish company 5289 Azvi is the contractor and around €30 million of the estimated 60 million has been invested so far.

The minister also expressed concern over slow progress of works on Ub-Obrenovac part of the Corridor 11 motorway.

Serbia’s president Aleksandar Vucichas said he plans to visit the Surcin-Obrenovac section of Corridor 11. China Construction Communication Company began work on the 18km motorway in March 2017, with completion expected by the end of 2019. Value of works is estimated at €208 million, and is financed by China's Exim Bank, while Serbian roads company Putevi Srbije is the investor.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Koridori Srbije signs Corridor 11 motorway deal with Shandong HSG
    May 16, 2013
    Serbian Minister of Infrastructure, Velimir Ilic, and the director of the roads company Koridori Srbije, Dmitar Durovic, say they have signed a contract agreement with the Chinese company Shandong High Speed Group, for construction of the Corridor 11 motorway, worth a total of €257.23 million (US$ 334mn). The contract has been signed by Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Chinese company, for construction of the Ljig-Preljina part of 50km. Meanwhile, a new tender is due to be called soon for construction of the
  • Serbian highway plans
    March 19, 2012
    Serbian contractor Milos Trans will start work on the Serbia’s Corridor 11 highway during 2012. The firm will carry out work on the stretch running from Preljina to Takovo.
  • New cross border connection between Serbia and Macedonia
    August 19, 2014
    Plans are in hand in Macedonia for the new highway that will run from Bar to the Serbian border. The Macedonian Government recently held talks with Chinese construction company CRBC with regard to the project. The Chinese contractor is commencing construction once a loan from China’s Exim bank is fully secured. Meanwhile over the border in Serbia, the Ministry of Transport has said that 2014 will see some 60km of new major roads opening to traffic. In 2015 work on another 210km of roads will commence in the
  • Germany plans replacement for A40 Neuenkamp Duisburg Bridge
    March 6, 2018
    Germany’s motorway authority has unveiled plans for an 802m cable stayed replacement bridge taking the A40 over the Rhine River near Duisburg. The state owned authority Deges - Deutsche Einheit Fernstraßenplanungs- und -bau - will oversee the project that includes an eight-lane expansion of the A40, all in the industrial Rhur region.