EU Allocates $647Mln Grant To Serbia For High-Speed Railway Project

Umer Jamshaid Published February 28, 2023 | 11:56 PM

The European Union on Tuesday signed a document that provided Serbia with 610 million euros ($647 million) in grants for the construction of a high-speed railway line from its capital, Belgrade, to the south of the country

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th February, 2023) The European Union on Tuesday signed a document that provided Serbia with 610 million euros ($647 million) in grants for the construction of a high-speed railway line from its capital, Belgrade, to the south of the country.

The contract to finance the railway project was signed by Alessandro Bragonzi, the head of the Regional Representation for Western Balkans of the European Investment Bank (EIB), and Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesic. The signing ceremony was also attended by European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Oliver Varhelyi and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

"The EU is currently providing us with 610 million euros as a gift, do you realize that? We are receiving 610 million euros in a gift from the EU. This is the biggest help, the biggest support, the largest amount of money (Serbia has ever received in grants)," Vucic told a press conference.

The Serbian leader also thanked Brussels and several European officials "for huge money for Serbia."

The cost of the 230-kilometer (143-mile) railway project between Belgrade and the Serbian city of Nis is estimated at a total of 2.8 billion euros, with construction expected to be divided into three parts. The project will be jointly financed by the Serbian government, the EIB and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The high-speed railway is expected to be build by 2029.

The grant allocated to Belgrade is the bloc's first tranche within the financial package for pan-European railway Corridor X, which runs between Salzburg in northern Austria and Thessaloniki in eastern Greece through Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and North Macedonia. The project is one of the flagship investments of the EU under its Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans.