June 11 (SeeNews) - French urban engineering company Egis estimates the total cost of the construction of the metro network in Belgrade at 4 billion euro ($4.5 billion), the Serbian finance ministry has said.
The pre-feasibility study of the project prepared by Egis shows that the construction of the first line of the metro will cost 1.8 billion euro, while 2.2 billion euro will need to be invested in the second line, the finance ministry said in a statement on Monday.
In April, Serbia's government signed a cooperation agreement with China's Power Construction Corporation (Powerchina) for the project. Under the terms of the agreement, Serbia and Powerchina will commence joint work on project documentation, spatial plans and the model of financing for the Belgrade metro construction.
According to the design of the project, the metro network of Serbia's capital will consist of two lines, 22 kilometres and 19.8 kilometres in length respectively. The system will also integrate four urban rail lines.
($ = 0.883645 euro)