Postponement of works on Belgrade-Budapest railway in Hungary not to impact construction of section in Serbia, ministry claims

Although the Government of Hungary has recently decided to open a new tendering procedure for the modernization of the Hungarian section of the Budapest-Belgrade railway due to increased expenditures, the competent ministry in Serbia says that it will not impact the project of the reconstruction of the railway in Serbia.

Hungarian media write that, due to the government's decision, the works will only start in 2020, a year later than initially planned.

The Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure of Serbia says for Tanjug that “the latest events related to the project in Hungary do not in any way influence the realization of the project of the modernization and the reconstruction of the Belgrade-Budapest railway in Serbia”.

– We are practically communicating daily with our Hungarian partners, harmonizing all technical parameters in order for the project to function in a uniform manner and in line with the EU standards and the regulations in effect in Serbia, which are in turn fully harmonized with the EU regulations – the ministry says.

According to the Hungarian agency MTI, the projected expenses of the modernization of this 152-km section between Budapest and Kelebija, on the Serbian border, amounted to HUF 578 billion (EUR 1.79 billion).

However, the best offer to be sent since then amounted to HUF 693 billion.

Considering the the Hungarian government is not ready to make big expenditures, it has initiated a new public procurement procedure.

– We are following and harmonizing the deadlines of the realization of project to the end of having the entire project from Belgrade to Budapest completed as soon as possible – says the competent Serbian ministry.

The aim of the modernization of this railway route is to facilitate the transport of Chinese goods to Europe through the Greek Port of Piraeus.

The Government of Hungary

Ministarstvo građevinarstva, saobraćaja i infrastrukture Republike Srbije

Port of Piraeus

reconstruction of Belgrade Budapest railway

Belgrade Budapest high speed railway

transport of Chinese goods to Europe