April 18 (SeeNews) - Dubai-based P&O Ports plans to invest 30 million euro ($33.8 million) in the development of the Danube river port of Novi Sad, Serbia's infrastructure ministry said on Thursday.
The Serbian government plans to sign an agreement for the sale of Luka Novi Sad, the state-owned company operating the port, on May 6, the infrastructure ministry said in a statement.
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P&O Ports placed a 7.99 million euro offer in a tender for the sale of Luka Novi Sad, a Serbian economy ministry official said last month.
"The plan is that Serbia becomes a multimodal hub for the Western Balkans and, by 2021, we connect the Danube and Sava rivers with the road and railway Corridor X. That is why this investment is of great importance to Serbia," infrastructure minister Zorana Mihajlovic said on Thursday.
The acquisition of Luka Novi Sad represents the first investment of P&O Ports in the Balkans as the company is aware of the importance of the Danube river for the connectivity in Europe, the CEO of DP World, Rashid Abdulla, said during a meeting with Mihajlovic in Belgrade.
The port of Novi Sad is located in Serbia's northern autonomous province of Vojvodina. The port operates 10 indoor warehouses with a total area of 45,968 square metres.
($ = 0.888614 euro)