November 27 (SeeNews) - Serbia plans to take out a 250 million euro ($282.9 million) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) next year in order to finance the construction of a national stadium in Belgrade, the government's 2019 draft budget shows.
Total borrowing from the EIB next year will stand at 690.9 million euro and will include financing for development of river transport, the construction of Nis-Merdare motorway and the gas link to Bulgaria, according to the draft posted on the website of Serbia's parliament.
"The new budget envisages the construction of a national stadium. UEFA architects are still working on a conceptual solution, they are looking at the necessary infrastructure and the capacity of the stadium. We expect this to take two or three months," finance minister Sinisa Mali said in a statement on Monday.
The parliament plans to start debates on the draft budget on November 27, according to its schedule of activities.
Four countries of Southeast Europe - Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Greece - plan to submit joint hosting bids for both UEFA Euro 2028 championship and FIFA World Cup 2030, Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic said earlier this month.
Three bids for hosting the 2030 World Cup have been submitted thus far - a joint bid from Argentina and Uruguay, a joint bid from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, and a bid from the Football Association of England.
($ = 0.88372 euro)