July 9 (SeeNews) - Serbia signed a 943 million euro ($1.11 billion) deal with China Railway International and China Communications Construction Company for the overhaul of the Novi Sad-Subotica section of the railway linking Belgrade with Hungary's capital Budapest, Serbia's infrastructure minister Zorana Mihajlovic said.
The modernisation of the 108.1 kilometre-long section, which is expected to start in 2019, will help increase freight traffic along the Belgrade-Budapest railway line, Mihajlovic said in a statement on Friday.
Serbia has been negotiating on the contract for more than a year and managed to agree the most beneficial terms for itself, Mihajlovic added.
The contract was signed on the sidelines of the seventh summit of heads of government of China and Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC), also known as the 16+1 format in Bulgaria's capital Sofia on July 6 and 7.
China Railway International (CRI) and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) are also the main contractors of the project for the overhaul of the Belgrade-Stara Pazova section of the railway, which is part of pan-European transport Corridor X.
($ = 0.849294 euro)