September 10 (SeeNews) - Serbia started the construction of a factory for China's Sinopharm coronavirus vaccines, the Serbian president's office said.
"By the end of March 2022, we will have completed the first filling plant, with a capacity of 30 million doses per year," president Aleksandar Vucic said during the groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday.
The factory will be the first Chinese COVID-19 vaccine production facility in Europe, China's State Council Information Office said in a separate statement on Friday.
Serbia will start the production of the active component of the vaccine when it completes the second stage of development of the factory in 2023, Vucic said.
In July, the government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with partners from China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the construction of the factory. Serbia intends to have 10 million doses of the vaccine filled in the factory by the end of the year, prime minister Ana Brnabic said back then.