EBRD loans €50 million to Serbia for urgent rail tracks rehabilitation

• The EBRD is providing a €50 million loan to finance materials for the rehabilitation of rail tracks
• Investment to enhance the quality of rail infrastructure on the Serbian network
• EBRD investment in Serbian rail sector exceeds €1 billion

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing Serbia with a loan of up to €50 million to finance the procurement of materials for the urgent upgrade of selected sections of track across the rail network. Serbian Railways Infrastructure will implement the project, with the assistance of the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure.

The investment aims to enhance the quality of infrastructure on Serbia's rail network, with a particular emphasis on improving operational speed and preventing derailments. The project seeks to enhance the reliability and safety of passenger and freight rail services, making the sector more attractive and promoting a modal shift towards rail transport.

Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali signed the loan agreement, while the project agreement was signed by Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesić and Acting Director General of Serbian Railways Infrastructure Jelena Tanasković. On behalf of the EBRD, both agreements were signed by Matteo Colangeli, Director and EBRD Regional Head of the Western Balkans.

Jelena Tanasković, Acting Director General of Serbian Railways Infrastructure, said: “This loan will enable us to acquire rails, sleepers and materials for the railway supperstructure, thanks to which we will rehabilitate about 194 km of tracks throughout Serbia. With the help and support of the state, today we are realising a project of comprehensive modernisation of railway infrastructure, including the construction of a 200-km-per-hour, high-speed link from Belgrade to Subotica, and the EBRD is one of our most important partners for the construction of a high-speed railway from Belgrade to Niš. However, our goal is to improve the quality of railway traffic, increase train speeds and raise safety to a higher level on other regional and local railways that are not covered by this modernisation project. The tracks that we will rehabilitate are sections of an almost 1,100 km railway network, on which, thanks to these funds, we will develop faster, better and safer rail traffic. The project will be implemented over the next two years. This will contribute to Serbian railways continuing their modernization and development in accordance with the needs and wishes of citizens, the economy and the state of Serbia, in order to take the place they deserve on the map of developed European roads.“

Goran Vesić, Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, added: “I would like to thank the EBRD for this loan, which will help us repair the tracks on certain sections more easily and quickly, which, along with the upgrade and the construction of new railways, is especially important in order to ensure a higher quality and safety of railway traffic. Serbia's first-ever high-speed railway, between Belgrade and Novi Sad, will be extended to Subotica on 24 November, and then the “Soko” high-speed train will travel from Belgrade to the north of Vojvodina in 70 minutes. Almost 1,000 km of railways have been reconstructed and modernised in Serbia so far. The biggest job still awaits us, because we plan to build and modernise about 2,000 km of tracks, in order to almost completely restore the entire railway network and achieve the goal - that the next years and decades will mark the decades of Serbian railways”

Matteo Colangeli, EBRD Director for the Western Balkans, said: “Rail is our priority when it comes to strengthening transport links in the region. In this context, investing in the rehabilitation of Serbia's rail infrastructure through this loan is a critical step towards improving standards, reliability and confidence in the rail system. I would like to point out that nearly €1.1 billion of financings was signed for the Serbian railways sector to date. The objective is to encourage a shift to rail as the favoured mode of transport, enhance the daily lives of individuals, foster economic growth and contribute to a greener future. Serbian Railways Infrastructure is a longstanding partner of the Bank and we are pleased to expand our cooperation with this important project.”

The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Serbia and has invested more than €9 billion through 362 projects to date, of which the majority have supported the private sector. The Bank’s focus in Serbia is on boosting private-sector competitiveness, green-energy transition and sustainable infrastructure.