At a time when Serbia is experiencing numerous environmental problems, the construction of wastewater treatment plants, sewers, and regional landfills worth 3.2 billion euros has been awarded to China Road and Bridge Corp (CRBC). The works will be performed in 65 local self-governments and will last for a maximum of 35 months.
The contracts on that work were signed by the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Tomislav Momirovic and the director of China Road and Bridge Corp in Serbia, Zhang Xiaoyuan.
The ministry announced that these projects will enable numerous municipalities and cities to solve numerous environmental issues after several decades.
They also emphasize that this is the largest planned investment in the country, as well as that it is part of the Serbia 2020-2025 program.
Momirovic said the country would get “the most modern roads, the fastest railways, digital highways, but also an environmentally safe environment”.
The mentioned contracts, as it is stated, open the door for the construction of wastewater treatment plants, stations with pumps and sewage networks on the territory of 65 local self-governments.
73 projects will be realized, and six regional landfills will be rehabilitated or built, the ministry said in a statement.
According to the latest information, each venture will have a completion deadline of 39 months, and all projects must be completed within five years of the building permit being issued.
CRBC’s systems used for wastewater treatment will include sludge treatment, the ministry added, stressing that the share of Serbian companies in these operations will be at least 49%.
The ministry announced that the works will be performed according to the model of the so-called “yellow book” of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC), where cities and municipalities will have the status of investors.
CRBC, which operates within China’s Communications Construction Co. (CCCC), is already building roads and railways in Serbia.
That company also performs the work of contractors on the highway project in Montenegro.
One year ago, the City of Belgrade signed a cooperation agreement with another Chinese company, China Machinery Engineering Corp (CMEC), on financing the wastewater collection and treatment system.
The second signed contract authorizes CMEC to begin exploration work for the project, which is estimated at 771 million euros.
In the meantime, there was no official information on the status of the project.
As Nova ekonomija previously wrote, the company CMEC, which is supposed to implement a project related to the collection and treatment of sewage wastewater in Belgrade, has worked on several projects around the world.
These projects have been criticized for alleged corruption or poor performance, Nova Ekonomija reports.
