January 3 (SeeNews) - Serbia's government plans to start the construction of a national sport stadium in Belgrade in the spring of 2019, finance minister Sinisa Mali said.
The works will last for two or three years, Mali said, as quoted in a statement by the finance ministry earlier this week. An entire complex, named Stadium City, comprising office and residential buildings, a technology park, exhibition fairs, and an aquapark, will be built, Mali said.
"The goal is to make money through investments and tourism, but also to promote sports - Belgrade will get a modern stadium in order to host at some point the finals of the Champions League or the Europa League," he added.
Serbia's 2019 state budget envisages taking out a 250 million euro ($284.3 million) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) this year in order to finance the construction of a national stadium in Belgrade.
Four countries in Southeast Europe - Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Greece - plan to submit joint hosting bids for both UEFA Euro 2028 championship and FIFA World Cup 2030, Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic said in November.
Three bids for hosting the 2030 World Cup have been submitted thus far - a joint bid from Argentina and Uruguay, a joint bid from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, and a bid from the Football Association of England.
($ = 0.87932 euro)