Vucic: “If the EU refuses us a loan, we will build a railway with China”
Alexey Axe
The Serbian government and the Chinese company CRBC signed today an agreement on the construction of the Fruškogorsk tunnel from Novi Sad to Ruma.
The cost of the project will be 606 million euros, the length of the tunnel will be 47,7 kilometers.
The document was signed by the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihailovic and the director of CRBC Zhang Xiao Yen, and the ceremony was attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Chinese Ambassador Chen Bo.
“The tunnel is intended both for residents of Novi Sad and for residents of many other areas, for whom it will shorten the route to western countries and western Serbia and provide an easier route to Fruška Gora,” commented Aleksandar Vucic on the signed agreement. “The journey from Belgrade to Nis will take an hour and fifteen minutes... Serbia has asked the European Union for a 50 percent grant for the construction of the Belgrade-Nis high-speed railway, and if they do not agree, we will build this railway with CRBC.”
According to Vučić, the Belgrade-Niš high-speed railway project will require an investment of two billion euros, and according to the project, trains will travel at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour.
“I thank the government and the President of Serbia for entrusting the construction of the Fruskogora tunnel to CRBC and the company will do everything possible to complete the project within the agreed time frame. I thank the Serbian-Chinese team, which worked for a year and a half to prepare this project. CRBC is the first Chinese company to enter the Serbian market, and it is ready to cooperate even more with Serbian companies and share knowledge and experience, because this opens the way to greater success. I hope that even more Chinese companies will come to Serbia to work and invest,” said CRBC Director Zhang Xiao Yen in turn.
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