Chinese Government pledges EUR 160 million loan for the extension of the Belgrade – Niš – Preševo railway line (Linked to Record ID#67192)

Project narrative

In 2018, Serbian state-owned company Infrastruktura Zeleznice Srbije signed a framework agreement for the overhaul of a railway line linking Belgrade to the North Macedonian border with China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). The construction of the 88 km railway line will cost approximately €160 million EUR. This project is part two of a larger project to extend the Belgrade – Niš railway line to the North Macedonian border (the completed project will be the Belgrade – Niš – Preševo railway line; phase one of the project is recorded in the linked Record ID#67192). This second phase of the project is 88-km, and runs from Niš to Presevo section, at a cost of EUR 160 million. In May 2019, a framework agreement for the overhaul of the Belgrade-Nis-Presevo railway was signed between Serbian Railways Infrastructure (Infrastruktura Zeleznice Srbije) and CRBC. The contract is for the design, delivery and execution of works on certain sections of the railway line linking Belgrade to the town of Presevo, on the Serbian side of the border. In July 2019, a Feasibility Study with the Preliminary Project and the Environmental Impact Assessment Study from the WBIF Fund was prepared for the Belgrade-Nis railroad's second demanding section, from Stalac to Djunis. Changes were being made to the technical documentation in accordance with the comments from the members of the State Audit Committee, and their approval was expected by the end of 2019. Financing of this project had not yet been provided, and the plan was to apply for EIB loan funds and grants through the WBIF program. As of July 2020, the Government of Serbia had reviewed the larger Belgrade-Nis-Presevo railway project and decided to focus on the Belgrade – Niš section, but to also increase the speed of the railway, leading to a higher proposed project cost. The Niš – Preševo section will be upgraded after completing the mentioned line to Niš. As such, the current status of the project's implementation and financing is unknown. The Belgrade-Presevo railway line is part of Corridor X, or Corridor 10, which will facilitate the traffic of goods from Greece's Piraeus port to Central Europe, the Serbian company said. Corridor X will connect Salzburg in Austria to the Greek Aegean port of Thessaloniki, passing through Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and North Macedonia.