eKapija | 2017 RETROSPECTIVE – Investments in TRANSPORTATION which have caused the greatest interest among eKapija users

(Photo: Rasica/shutterstock.com)

The investment team of eKapija has performed the analysis and formed the list of investments and investment ideas which caused the greatest interest among our users in 2017. The results are very interesting, some of them expected, though there are lots of surprises as well, which is why we've decided to share the information with you.

We present the most interesting projects in the TRANSPORTATION category.

The situation in 2017 is similar to that from a year ago – the strongest players, airports, railways and highway are secure in their top spots. In fact, the slightly different order notwithstanding, the list has been the same for several years now, which is to be expected, as we are all interested where we will drive, if we are finally to get “high-speed railways”, how air traffic will develop... The policy of big promises continues, and the realization remains underwhelming.

Some of the most important events in the state, on the threshold between 2017 and 2018, the influence of which we will be noticing for many years to come, belong to this field – the reconstruction of the railway to Budapest began, and the Nikola Tesla Airport was given in concession. There's the other side of the coin as well. Corridor 10 wasn't completed in 2017 either and remains a contentious topic. We can only hope that all the works will be completed by the next retrospective.

The second half of the list of the most read stories is once again diverse – new companies, innovative ideas, fresh possibilities for investment... Serbia is working intensively on the development of passenger terminals, the public-private partnership is becoming an increasingly more acceptable model of financing various project, and electric vehicles are arriving to our streets as well.

As expected, the Nikola Tesla Airport takes the top spot on our list. After seemingly endless extensions of deadlines at the public invitation throughout 2017, the Belgrade Airport finally got a concessionaire for the next 25 years in early 2018. The company in question is France's Vinci Airports, which offered EUR 501 million for the airport and obliged to invest another EUR 732 million in the upcoming period. The annual concession fee will amount to EUR 16 million. It is not quite certain yet what the state will use the money for, and Minister Vujovic recently brought the topics of the repayment of expensive loans and “strategic goals” back to the fore.

The second spot belongs to the bus station in Block 42 in New Belgrade, another old story. Among the latest announcements was the one that the construction would start before the end of 2017, but the officials presented a new deadline in the final days of the old year – the spring of 2018.

At the summit of China and 16 countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which took place in November, an agreement on the construction of a highway from Preljina to Pozega on Corridor 11 was signed. The agreement worth EUR 450 million was signed with representatives of China Communications Construction Company by Minister of Construction Zorana Mihajlovic and, on behalf of the Roads of Serbia, Zoran Drobnjak. The agreement entails the project and the works on the 30.9-km section, which is important both for the road to Montenegro and the future traffic connection with Sarajevo (if both sides agree on the route, of course). This investment placed third.

The Old Sava Bridge will be re-purposed, and a new one will be built in its place, containing two driving lanes in each direction, subway and tram tracks, a bicycle lane and lookouts. The project is to be prepared by CIP, and the plan is for it to be fully integrated into the Sava Promenade. The Old Sava Bridge took the fourth spot on our list.

The reconstruction of the railway to Budapest (fifth spot) started in November, with the Belgrade-Stara Pazova section, worth over USD 350 million. Once it is completed, which should happen in three years, according to the plan, trains will be able to run at up to 200 km/h on this route. The entire Belgrade-Budapest high-speed railway should be completed in six years.

(Photo: VladimirE/shuttersdtock.com)

Whether Belgrade is to get a subway or whether it is just an empty promise is the question our readers continue to find interesting. It is clear that all talk is empty, as the most pressing practical concern remains – where is the money to come from? The Belgrade subway placed sixth, and the final announcement was made recently by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who said that Belgrade would get the first subway line until 2022.

The construction of the 17.6-km section from Surcin to Obrenovac, on Corridor 11, is another project started in 2017. The plan is for it to be completed within 32 months, by the end of 2019. The works are worth around USD 234 million, and are financed from the loan of the Chinese Exim Bank. The section will also feature a bridge on the Kolubara and the Sava, in Obrenovac, around 1.6 kilometers long, as well as another six bridges and four overpasses. The new section should considerably unload the traffic on the Ibar Highway, and this project placed seventh.

The eighth spot features a story concerning the entire region, the long awaited highway to Sarajevo. B&H is still deciding on the route, and the final decision will depend on them, all things considered. The first option is for the route to go through Pozega and Uzice to Kotroman in Srbija and to pass through Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Visegrad area. The other option is for the highway to pass through Bijeljina, Brcko and Tuzla in B&H, and for Serbia to connect to it through a route to be constructed from Kuzmin (on the Belgrade-Sarajevo highway) to the border with Republika Srpska. President Aleksandar Vucic stated that Serbia was ready to support either solution.

The tunnel to connect the Sava and the Danube slopes caused interest among our readers once again. The construction of an underground route from Savamala to the Pancevo Bridge should begin in 2019, and the City of Belgrade recently presented a detailed urban plan for this capital project, which placed ninth.

Illustration (Photo: Tommy Lee Walker/shutterstock.com)

Germany's Phoenix Group closes the top 10 with its logistics center in Simanovci, worth EUR 15 million.

The construction of underground garages in Belgrade takes the 11th spot. The invitation for concessionaires is open until January 31, and we should soon see whether there are interested parties and who they are.

The 12th spot belongs to an investment in Krusevac worth RSD 250 million – the construction of the Rosulje Airport. Once the works are completed, Krusevac will get an airport with the reference code 2B. It is meant for instrumental flights, with the possibility of carrying out cargo flights as well. The Nikola Tesla Airport is also aiding the construction of Rosulje.

Another logistics center attracted your attention, the project by M&B Trans, which placed 13th.

Our readers found Ponikve (14th spot) interesting once again. The development of the airport in Uzice entails the construction of a hotel, small production facilities... It remains to be seen what will be realized and when. Chinese companies are among potential partners in this project.

Serbia's mountain ace also placed on the list – by the next ski season, Kopaonik should get a garage and a heliport. The value of this investment, which takes the 15th spot, amounts to around EUR 3 million.

The development of passenger terminals, one of the strategic plans which will help local tourist workers to increase their income, placed 16th.

The 17th spot belongs to the newly opened toll booth in Vrcin, which has increased the capacity of the highway by 40%.

The protocol on the construction of the Novi Sad-Zrenjanin-Borca traffic route was signed in October, placing 18th on our list.

Belgrade should pay more attention to environmental protection in the upcoming years, and the plan is for it to also get electric buses. This idea placed 19th on our list of the most read articles.

We round up the top 20 with the issue of the completion of Corridor 10. The year 2017 has passed, and the works are still not completed, the deadlines keep getting extended... The latest piece of news arrives from the Grdelica Gorge, where the paving of the Predejane tunnel has just begun, since the construction season has been extended thanks to the mild winter. We can only hope that, by the next retrospective, we will no longer have to ask who is to blame for the delays and that all the works will finally be completed.

Take a look at the complete list on investments in the TRANSPORTATION category and compare it with your own thoughts, estimates and projections.

Also, have you seen our list of the projects that have caused the greatest interest in the TELECOMMUNICATIONS & IT, ECOLOGY, TOURISM, ENTERTAINMENT & RECREATION, UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE & ENERGY, HEALTH CARE, REAL ESTATE (residential and office space), AGRICULTURE AND FOOD INDUSTRY and INDUSTRY categories?

2017 RETROSPECTIVE – Investments in TRANSPORTATION which have caused the greatest interest among eKapija users

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