CRBC to start €450m Serbian road project

China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) has announced its plans to start work on a €450 million roadbuilding project in Serbia.

Work will begin next month on the 31km stretch of the A2 motorway, running between Preljina and Pozega, in the country’s central region.

The new road will form part of an important strategic connection between Bari in Italy and Bucharest in Romania, via the Serbian capital, Belgrade.

The two-year project is one of a number in which CRBC has shown interest in Serbia; it is expected to bid for the €400 million Fruskogorski Corridor road project in the Vojvodina region, as well as the €600 million overhaul of the railway line between Belgrade and Nis, plus a project to extend the same line to the North Macedonian border.

CRBC’s president, Du Fei recently met with with the Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, to discuss projects including a 45km stretch of motorway, between Novi Sad and Ruma, in the north of the country.

Following the meeting, Brnabic expressed her satisfaction with negotiations over the construction of the industrial park in Borca, on the outskirts of Belgrade, a project jointly funded by China and Serbia.

Du Fei said the work currently being undertaken in Serbia by CRBC would have a significant positive effect on the country’s GDP.

In April this year, more construction projects in Serbia are likely to be discussed when China meets with Southeast European nations at the 16+1 Summit to be held in Dubrovnik.