Chinese company joins modernization of Serbian railways - MoU signed with CCCC International

The Serbian Ministry of Transportation signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Saturday (22 December 2012) with the Chinese telecommunications and infrastructure company CCCC International, thus paving the way for the participation of that company in railway modernization projects in Serbia.

After signing the MoU, Transportation Minister Milutin Mrkonjic stated that the priorities would be two railway sections of Corridor X - Novi Sad-Subotica and Nis-Dimitrovgrad, as well as the reconstruction of the Belgrade-Bar railroad.

Mrkonjic told Tanjug news agency that Chinese construction companies had already showed enough in the construction of a bridge across the Danube connecting Zemun and Borca in Belgrade to "pass the exam."

He said that that project had qualified them for participation in the construction of roads and railways in Serbia, voicing his expectation that the implementation of planned railway projects would start as early as March 2013.

- I am convinced that the Chinese will implement these projects, and Serbia puts a lot of trust in them - said Mrkonjic.

The MoU was signed by State Secretary of the Transportation Ministry Miodrag Poledica, CCCC International Director General for Europe and Central Asia Hu Bin and Director of the Serbian Railways Infrastructure Directorate Milan Maksimovic.

The two sides will join their efforts to secure the necessary financial resources, through export credits or other forms of financing, for railway infrastructure projects in Serbia, the ministry said in a statement.