June 21 (SeeNews) - French companies have expressed interest in the planned construction of a metro network in the Serbian capital Belgrade, prime minister Ana Brnabic said.
Several French companies are interested in the project and the Serbian government hopes to sign some agreements soon, Brnabic said in Paris on Thursday, as quoted in a government statement.
During a meeting with French employer federation MEDEF, Brnabic talked with representatives of 25 French companies, including construction company Vinci, urban engineering firm Egis and transport equipment maker Alstom, the government said.
Egis was hired by the Serbian government to design the first stage of the planned metro network. The pre-feasibility study prepared by the French company shows that the construction of the first line of the metro will cost 1.8 billion euro ($2 billion), while 2.2 billion euro will need to be invested in the second line.
In April, Serbia's government signed a cooperation agreement with China's Power Construction Corporation (Powerchina) for the project. Under the terms of the agreement, Serbia and Powerchina will commence joint work on project documentation, spatial plans and the model of financing for the Belgrade metro construction.
According to the design of the project, the metro network of Serbia's capital will consist of two lines, 22 kilometres and 19.8 kilometres in length respectively. The system will also integrate four urban rail lines.
($ = 0.8848 euro)