China has secured two more agreements for the modernisation and reconstruction of Serbia’s railway infrastructure. The contracts cover the reconstruction of Belgrade – Niš – Preševo line and the modernisation of Novi Sad – Subotica, part of Belgrade – Budapest railway line.
Serbian Minister of Infrastructure, Zorana Mihajlović, the director general of Serbian Railways Infrastructure, Miroljub Jevtić, and the general manager of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), Lu Shan, signed a contract for the reconstruction of Belgrade – Niš – Preševo line on Corridor 10, which will provide railway connection with North Macedonia. The project was estimated at EUR 760 million and envisages the modernisation of 286 km.
“To take advantage on Serbia’s transit country position, we need to complete the reconstruction and modernisation of the entire railway Corridor 10, which will make Serbia an inevitable part of the strategic direction of the transport corridor from Port Piraeus to central Europe. It is also important to continue building the bypass around Belgrade, from Bubanj Potok to Pancevo, in order to divert freight railway traffic out of the city center and allow the development of new industrial zones and logistics centers around the bypass,” Zorana Mihajlović said.
The contract signed defines the next steps of Belgrade – Niš – Preševo modernisation project, which implies the joint preparation of a technical and economic study for the development of the railway Corridor 10, the design and execution of works on the construction of a new double-track railway on Belgrade-Velika Plana route for mixed traffic. This will allow trains to run at speeds up to 160 km/h.
“We will define the detailed scope of activities, the concrete obligations and the deadlines for completion of the Technical and Economic Study, and the value of the project realization will be determined within the framework of commercial contracts that will be signed in stages, for each individual section of the section,” the director of Serbian Railways Infrastructure said.
The total value of the project is estimated at EUR 760 million, of which, for Belgrade-Niš railway line, the modernisation of 198 km is estimated at EUR 600 million, while the 88-km Niš – Presevo section, at EUR 160 million.
The second agreement envisages the Novi Sad – Subotica modernisation project, which is the third section of Belgrade – Budapest rail connection. The contract was signed by Serbian President, Aleksandar Vučić and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The project includes the construction of the double-track between Novi Sad and Subotica and 49 underpasses and overpasses, the modernisation of the 108.2-km line, as well as the installation of the ERTMS.
Under the project, nine stations will be modernised and three new stations will be constructed at Rumenka, Vrbas and Lovćenac. In Vrbas a 1.6-km viaduct will be built.
Works are scheduled to be launched this year and they will be completed in 2021.
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