BELGRADE (Serbia), May 12 (SeeNews) – France has signed an agreement to donate 8.3 million euro ($9.0 million) to Serbia to support the construction of Belgrade metro network, the Serbian government said on Tuesday.
The donation will provide an opportunity for the feasibility study for the first phase of the Belgrade metro project to be conducted in all details and under the control of Serbian authorities, the government quoted French ambassador to Belgrade, Jean-Louis Falconi, as saying in a press release.
The feasibility study, conceptual design and environmental impact assessment will be executed by French company Egis, Serbian infrastructure minister Zorana Mihajlovic said in the press release.
"The technical documentation is expected to be completed within a year, and in the next few months we will have more concrete information on whether the Chinese partners will work on the construction part, and the French on the telecommunications side of the project," Mihajlovic said.
In April 2019, Serbia's government signed a cooperation agreement with China's Power Construction Corporation (Powerchina) for the Belgrade metro project. Under the terms of the agreement, Serbia and Powerchina will commence joint work on project documentation, spatial plans and the model of financing of the project.
The Serbian government is also in talks for receiving French financing for the construction phase of the project, which will be subject to a new agreement that will be signed soon, Falconi said.
The construction of the Belgrade metro will be the largest and most financially difficult project in the Western Balkans, Mihajlovic said, adding that the estimated cost of the project stands between 4.5 billion euro and 5.5 billion euro.
According to the preliminary design of the project, the Belgrade metro network will consist of two lines - of 22 km and 19.8 km in length, respectively - and will also integrate four urban railway lines.
($ = 0.922254 euro)