Nearly 90,000 households and 600 schools and public institutions in rural areas in Serbia will gain access to high-speed broadband thanks to a Serbian government digitalization project supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and bilateral donors under the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) in the announcement of this bank.
An EBRD loan of 18 million euros and a WBIF grant of 1.7 million euros will enable Serbia to finance the design and construction of optical broadband infrastructure in rural areas of the country.
The project is part of an initiative to promote digitalisation as a driver of economic growth and position the country as a hub for IT sector development.
Currently, only 69 percent of rural Serbian households are connected to fixed broadband networks, compared to 85 percent in urban areas (based on 2019 data).
“Quarantine measures due to the Covid-19 pandemic around the world have shown that high-speed internet is crucial for working from home, continuing education, accessing medical and financial services or simply maintaining communication with the outside world,” the statement said.
The Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) supports socio-economic development and EU accession across the Western Balkans by providing financial resources and technical assistance for strategic investments.
To date, the WBIF has awarded grants of 1.3 billion euros for projects in the transport, energy and digital networks, renewable energy and energy efficiency, water and wastewater systems, flood protection, education and the like, Nova Ekonomija reports.

