Putevi Srbije and Strabag to sign contract on reconstruction of Gazela bridge on March 15th

Public company Putevi Srbije and Austrian Strabag will sign the contract on reconstruction of Belgrade's bridge Gazela on Monday, March 15th.

As the people from Putevi Srbije told Beta agency, the value of reconstruction and deadlines for commencement and completion of works will be announced when the contract is signed. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) granted loans in 2007 to Putevi Srbije for the works on Gazela bridge and access roads, but withdrawal of the money was postponed because the conditions related to relocation of Roma people who lived underneath the bridge were not met.

Built in 1970, Gazela bridge has not been reconstructed ever since. It is daily crossed by about 170,000 vehicles, which is four times more than its projected capacity of about 40,000 vehicles per day. Freight traffic across Gazela was discontinued on January 28th because the main pillar of the bridge was damaged, but it was repaired about ten days later. Reconstruction of the bridge has been postponed since 2007.

It was said on the occasion of the signing of loan contracts in 2007 that the reconstruction of Gazela and access roads would be financed from the EIB's loan of 33m EUR and the EBRD's loan of 25m EUR, while the City of Belgrade would set aside 7.5m EUR, Putevi Srbije would provide 4.8m EUR, and the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR) would give the donation of 6.75m EUR for that purpose.

JP Putevi Srbije Beograd

Strabag d.o.o. Beograd

Strabag AG Wien

EBRD Evropska banka za obnovu i razvoj Beograd

EBRD London

Grad Beograd

EIB

Evropska agencija za rekonstrukciju EAR Beograd

Evropska agencija za rekonstrukciju EAR Beograd

Putevi Srbije

Strabag

Gazela

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

EBRD

European Investment Bank

EIB

City of Belgrade

European Agency for Reconstruction

EAR