Serbian gov't adopts bill on EIB loan for reconstruction of Nis-Dimitrovgrad rail line

BELGRADE - The Serbian government adopted on Friday a bill approving a financial agreement for a project to reconstruct the Nis-Dimitrovgrad B rail line, signed with the European Investment Bank (EIB) in August.

Under the deal, Serbia will receive a 100 mln euro EIB loan with a repayment period of 25 years.

In a statement, the government said the project was worth a total 502 mln euros, with 234 mln euros to be provided by EIB loans, 162 mln to come from the Serbian state budget and 105.92 mln donated from the Western Balkans Investment Framework.

The government said the project was exceptionally important for Serbia as the rail line was a part of Corridor 10, connecting Serbia and Bulgaria on a transport route handling large quantities of goods from Turkey and the Middle East as well as helping to remove several bottlenecks on the rail line.