February 21 (SeeNews) - Serbian state-owned company Infrastruktura Zeleznice Srbije said it signed an agreement with a consortium of companies led by China Railway 21st Bureau Group - a subsidiary of construction company China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC) - on the construction of a railway tunnel worth 40.8 million euro ($46.4 million) between the country's southern towns of Stalac and Djunis.
The construction of the 3.3 km tunnel, which is a part of the railway line linking Belgrade to Nis, is expected to start in the middle of 2022, Infrastruktura Zeleleznice Srbije said in a statement on Sunday.
The contract with the consortium also covers the construction of three evacuation tunnels, whose total length is around 1.4 km, as well as the construction of two access roads with a total length of around 1.7 km.
The deadline for the project is 912 days after the construction starts, the statement read.
After the overhaul, the new two-track railway between Stalac and Djunis will allow for train speeds of up to 160 km per hour, as opposed to the current capacity of 65 km per hour, the company said.
($ = 0.8798 euro)