EBRD loan of EUR 30 mil redirected to reconstruction of flooded railway infrastructure

On Friday, June 20, 2014, Zeleznice Srbije (Railways of Serbia) and the European Bank for Reconstruction n and Development (EBRD) agreed that EUR 30 mil from previously approved loans to Serbian railways should be redirected to an urgent reconstruction of the railway infrastructure damaged in May floods.

As it was stated in the announcement, it was agreed at the meeting of the General Manager at Zeleznice Srbije, Dragoljub Simonovic and the Head of EBRD for Serbia Mateo Patrone.

- Zeleznice Srbije will start activities in order to prepare all the necessary documentation for rehabilitation of damaged railways as soon as possible so that EBRD loans for the implementation of the project of reconstruction and modernization could be redirected to new projects – it was stated at the announcement of Zeleznice Srbije.

It was added that the funds will enable rehabilitation of larger part of sections damaged in floods on the Corridor 10 and the Belgrade-Bar and Ruma-Sabac-Zvornik railroads.

Simovic said that Zeleznice Srbije, due to halt in freight railway transport at the Ruma-Zvornik railway looses up to one million euros on daily basis and that the company was forced to introduce slow drives on more sections at the Corridor 10.

Patrone, as it was outlined in the announcement, agreed that the loan for modernization of more than 100 km of railroad at Corridor 10 should be implemented in stages so that the works should start as soon as possible on the sections for which project documentation was finished.

It was added in the announcement that Zeleznice Srbije initiated as new projects which would be funded from already approved loand, reconstruction of locomotion and electrical-motor trains as well as development of new and existing stops in Belgrade railway know which would result in the increased number of passengers as well as to promotion of BG train and Beovoz.