Serbian Transport Minister Milutin Mrkonjic and Hungarian Ambassador to Serbia Oscar Nikovic agreed Monday on the need to form a working group to deal with preparations for the construction of a Belgrade-Budapest railway allowing speeds over 200 kilometers per hour that would be financed by a Chinese loan.
After meeting at the Serbian ministry Monday, the two officials told Tanjug that it is in both countries’ interest that it be a trans-European railway route connecting Serbia to the Western Europe.
“We have agreed to propose to the governments of Serbia and Hungary to form a working group of experts in the fields of transportation, finance, economics and railways that would have a draft study for the realization of the strategically important project prepared by the end of March,” said Mrkonjic.
Mrkonjic said that the new railway track will cut the journey time between the two cities from about eight hours to about two and a half to three hours.
Mrkonjic pointed out that the construction works on the railway section from Belgrade to Stara Pazova are finished and preparations are underway for the construction of the section to Novi Sad.
Ambassador Nikovic said that the old Belgrade-Budapest track is not befitting the good relations between the two countries.
We agreed to make the first step on the very day of opening the crossing between Asotthalom (Hungary) and Backi Vinogradi (Serbia) later this month, which will also be the day of the first meeting of the working group, said Nikovic.
Mrkonjic and Nikovic said that it is in both countries’ best interest to use in this way the USD 10 million Chinese loan given to help the development of eastern European countries.
Source Tanjug
