Serbia’s infrastructure ministry said Russian railway engineering company RZD International saved $10 million (8.5 million euro) in costs on a project for the reconstruction of the Resnik-Valjevo section of the railway line connecting Serbia’s capital Belgrade to Montenegro’s port of Bar.
“The works on the reconstruction of the Resnik-Valjevo railway are being carried out in accordance with the contract, and the planned deadlines are fully respected,” the managing director of RZD International, Sergey Pavlov, said as quoted in a statement by the Serbian infrastructure ministry on Thursday.
Serbia has already issued a building permit for the first phase of the works for the overhaul of the Stara Pazova-Novi Sad railway line, to be carried out by RZD International, infrastructure minister Zorana Mihajlovic said during a meeting with Pavlov.
The reconstruction of the 77 km-long Resnik-Valjevo railway section is planned to be completed by the middle of November. The works on the entire section are valued at $80 million (69.7 million euro), with Serbia’s share in the investment equal to 15% of the total.
The project is financed with a $800 million loan extended by Russia to state-run railway operator Zeleznice Srbije in January 2013.
Serbia plans to launch, in the next year or two, the complete reconstruction of the railway line to Bar on the country’s territory valued at about 220 million euro.
