EIB approved first tranche of loan for bridge across the Sava - Belgrade to get 70m EUR

- European Investment Bank (EIB) approved on December 18, 2009, the first tranche of 70m EUR to the City Assembly of Belgrade from the loan of total of 160m EUR for construction of access roads to the bridge across the Sava river, which is going to be built in the capital city of Serbia - it was announced in Brussels.

It is added in the announcement that EIB also granted the loan of 45m EUR to "two Serbian banks for direct financing of SME projects" that are backed by small and mid-sized enterprises and local authorities in Serbia.

- That is the first time that EIB directly granted the loan to the authorities of some city in western Balkans. The loan will contribute to improvement of capacities and safety of traffic infrastructure in the capital city of Serbia - said Dario Schianapieco, the Vice President of EIB for Serbia.

He added that the loan for small and mid-sized enterprises, issued through Erste Bank and Piraeus Bank, would enable reduction of the influence of global economic crisis in Serbia by granting small and mid-sized enterprises access to mid-term and long-term loans under favorable conditions.

EIB

Grad Beograd

Erste Bank a.d. Novi Sad

ERSTE BANK-AUSTRIJA

Piraeus bank a.d. Beograd

PIRAEUS BANK S.A.

European Investment Bank

EIB

City of Belgrade

Dario Skanapejko

Erste bank

Piraeus bank