October 19 (SeeNews) - US civil engineering company Bechtel said it has signed an agreement with UK Export Finance (UKEF) to secure a 430 million euro ($501 million) guaranteed loan for the construction of the Morava Corridor, a 112 km motorway in central Serbia, it said.
The UKEF-supported Buyer Credit Facility will help Bechtel in its joint venture with Turkey's Enka to create value worth 150 million euro to the UK economy, driving investment into local communities and supporting jobs, Bechtel said in a statement on Monday.
"We are proud to partner with the government of Serbia and UKEF in this transformational project and we look forward to bringing energy and creativity to deliver this world-class motorway in this strategically important part of Europe. We thank the government of Serbia for their active engagement throughout the financing process," said Keith Hennessey, president of Bechtel Enterprises, the project development and financing arm of Bechtel.
Serbia signed a 745 million euro contract for the construction of the Morava Corridor motorway with the Bechtel-Enka consortium in December 2019.
The dual carriageway will have 88 bridges, 29 level crossings and 11 tollbooths. The 112 km motorway will have three sections -- Pojate-Krusevac, Krusevac-Adrani and Adrani-Mrcajevci. The Morava Corridor motorway will link with European transport Corridors X and XI which run to Austria and Greece by way of Slovenia, Croatia, and Macedonia; and to Italy and Romania by way of Montenegro.
($ = 0.85824 euro)