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Add to Preferred SourcesThe EIB has agreed to provide EUR 100 million loan to improve the functioning of the inland waterways navigation along Danube and Sava rivers in Serbia, which are a part of the Trans-European Transport Network priority project Rhine/Meuse-Main-Danube inland waterway axis. The loan will facilitate a shift from road to waterway transport. This will improve services to the local and regional industries as well as the agricultural sector, support economic growth and create jobs. The investments will enhance connections between European countries and regional cooperation.
In total, more than EUR 200 million will be invested into a number of projects, starting 2019. This includes the construction of the Bulk and General Cargo Terminal at the Port of Smederevo, a network of hydro-meteorological stations along the Danube and Sava rivers, the rehabilitation of river locks and the removal of WWII wrecks from the Danube river near the Port of Prahovo. Inland waterway transport has been growing by 11% annually since 2010 in Serbia.
The investments into the inland waterways in Serbia profit from an investment grant of EUR 11.4 million provided by the European Commission under the Connecting Europe Facility to co-finance the rehabilitation of the river lock Iron Gate 1. Additionally, the project may benefit of a technical assistance grant under the EIB’s Economic Resilience Initiative and will be also funded by the Serbian state budget.
The loan was signed by the Serbian Minister of Finance Siniša Mali and the EIB Head of Division Slovenia, Croatia and Western Balkans Matteo Rivellini in the presence of the European Union Ambassador to Serbia Sem Fabrizi and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlović.
EIB Vice-President Dario Scannapieco, responsible for the Bank’s operations in the Western Balkans said: “As the Bank of the European Union, the EIB has been investing in the Western Balkans for over 40 years, bringing its expertise, the financing instruments and the commitment to generating impact and to addressing long-term needs in critical infrastructure. The loan signed today is another example of the very fruitful cooperation with the Republic of Serbia. I believe that this project will bring economic benefits to the country and its citizens and will lay a foundation for further investments in this sector”.
The EIB is the leading international financier in the Western Balkans and has been active in the region since 1977. Since 2007, the Bank has financed projects totaling almost EUR 8 bn. Besides continuing its support for reconstruction and upgrading of public infrastructure, since 2010 the EIB has expanded its work in the Western Balkans into many new areas, such as health care, research and development, education as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Transport is by far the largest sector in which the European Investment Bank (EIB) has been active since its foundation. In the specific sector of maritime and inland waterways transport, the EIB has invested over EUR 6 bn in the last 10 years, of which EUR 250 million for inland waterways projects, all inside the EU. The present project is the first project in the specific sector to be signed outside the EU.
Original source: EIB
Published on 23 November 2018