After the agreement in Washington, the pro-government media in Serbia are buzzing about the “arrival of dollars” for infrastructure projects and that the American Development Agency is coming to share those dollars, that is, to manage the planned projects. Minister Zorana Mihajlovic expects American investments in the amount of at least 3.7 billion euros in the highway and the railway from Nis to Merdar. However, few mention that the bag for those same projects has already been partially decided by the European Union, and that the construction of the Nis-Pristina highway will start with European, not American money.
Apparently, the Americans have not only taken a diplomatic victory from the European Union, but also intend to take over projects from the Berlin Process package, such as the peace highway from Albania, through Kosovo to Nis. Namely, the Union has already given 40 million euros non-refundable for the section Nis – Plocnik, and the European Investment Bank has provided a loan of 100 million euros, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development should give almost as much more. But that is only one section of 33 kilometers and that is where the Americans enter the scene.
“We will continue to talk with the American Development Agency in the future. It should be said that that agency has the opportunity to invest 60 billion dollars outside the United States, and that no American agency has had such an opportunity so far,” said Minister Zorana Mihajlovic.
According to the minister, the Americans could finance the entire highway to the line with Kosovo, as well as provide money for the high-speed railway from Nis to Pristina, for which a total of 3.7 billion euros or a little more than 4 billion dollars is needed.
However, the editor-in-chief of NIN, long-term economic journalist Milan Culibrk, warns – it is not non-refundable money, but an additional debt that Serbia will have to repay.
“I am afraid, if those 4-5 billion arrive, that they will arrive with interest, and I ask only one question – will these railways and those roads be economically viable. How many cars a day should pass so that one day it can only I am afraid that it will be borne by the citizens,” says Culibrk.
For Culibrk, the key question is whether the American Development Agency, which comes to Belgrade according to the agreement, only gives a loan or also conditions who gets the jobs.
“Does that mean that Bechtel will get all these jobs as it will build the Moravian Corridor?” asks Culibrk.
To the comment that there is a saying in the world that the country to which Bechtel comes later enjoys American protection, Culibrk answers: “Bechtel is already in Serbia, and I do not feel protected”.
Six months before the conclusion of the agreement in Washington, the delegation of the American DFC was in Belgrade and was informed about potential projects. Allegedly, there is also interest in the reconstruction of the Belgrade-Nish railway, but more will be known on September 21, when the delegation of the American Development Agency arrives in Belgrade, N1 reports.
