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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

France most likely partner for constructing Belgrade underground

Belgrade, 8 December 2010

Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and Minister of Science and Technological Development Bozidar Djelic said in an interview for today’s edition of the Blic daily that it is ever more likely that France will be Serbia’s strategic partner for the construction of the Belgrade underground.

The Serbian government’s official website gives excerpts of this interview.

The construction of the Belgrade underground:

If the French side decides that this is in its interest, it will have to secure non-commercial loans to Serbia for the procurement of everything needed for the underground to work properly, starting from locomotives and coaches to other equipment. According to initial estimates, this sum may reach €190 million.

The first step in this direction was made when France decided to invest €3 million in the drafting of the necessary documentation (projects and studies) for the first underground line from Ustanicka to New Belgrade. This job should be completed within a year, and the construction of the first underground line could begin in two years.

Talks with the French side on this project:

Our talks with France, a country with one of the most efficient underground systems, which carried out similar projects in dozens of countries, are not limited to the project and the study. We also seek a strategic partner to monitor us over the next ten years or so during this project. There are few countries with such capacity, and France is most certainly one of them.

The Serbian side states that if France wants to be our strategic partner on the project for which we have been waiting for decades, then it must be prepared to secure favourable loans and everything else necessary for proper functioning of an underground system in a capital city.

We expect these issues to be specified at the end of January, during President Tadic’s visit to Paris. It is now up to France to state whether it is ready to be our partner until the end, and I am convinced it will do so. Just as we have a joint interest with China concerning the construction of the Borca–Zemun Bridge, we have it here with France, in addition to mechanisms for the strategic partner to offer the best price.

Will other countries be able to participate in the project?

This does not mean that other states and contractors will be excluded, but I would like to emphasise that Serbia wants a determined partner who will remain on the project until it is completed. This is not just one, but three underground lines, maybe even four, and considerable funds are at stake. We can say that the ballpark figure for such a complex system is €2 billion.

At the moment it is certain that the French side will prepare the general design, feasibility, environmental protection and profitability studies and various calculations for the first underground line. Their experts will also draft the design for the first line (appearance, route, across the river section, underground stops…), calculate two versions of construction costs and two versions of profit inflow from this type of public transport.

During the construction of dozens of underground systems a consortium led by BCOM consultancy has accumulated vast experience. Naturally, a number of Serbian engineers will also be engaged in the project as the Serbian authorities are advocating that domestic companies take part in such projects.