August 6 (SeeNews) - The Belgrade city government has signed an agreement for the design of a second metro line in the Serbian capital with French company Egis Rail, it said on Friday.
Egis Rail will draw a feasibility study and a preliminary design with an environmental impact assessment study for the second metro line that will be 21 km in length with 23 stations, Belgrade deputy mayor Goran Vesic said in a press release.
"The deadline for the completion of the contract is 25 months, so that the construction of the second line could begin in 2023 and be completed in 2030. The beginning of the construction of the first line of the Belgrade metro is planned for November this year, and the end in 2028," Vesic said.
In January, Serbia's government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with French companies Alstom and Egis Rail, and PowerChina for the construction of the Belgrade underground railway.
The first line of the metro will run along the Sava river, crossing downtown Belgrade, and will link the Makisko Polje area in the southwestern part of the Serbian capital to the Mirijevo neighbourhood in the northeast, near the Danube river. The second line will connect Zemun, a northwestern suburb of Belgrade, to the Mirijevo neighbourhood through the New Belgrade urban municipality.