Traffic steering clear of Serbia

Unless border procedures are simplified and the cost of tolls reduced, the section of Corridor 10 through Serbia will lose out to the competition, experts say. In the last year, the number of vehicles passing through Serbia has fallen significantly, as has transport revenue which accounts for 12.5 percent of Serbia’s GDP. Unlike 2006, when half a million heavy vehicles passed through Serbia, today that figure is only around 350,000. Traffic steering clear of Serbia Even though Corridor 10 is the fastest and best road connecting the Middle East and Western Europe, drivers are avoiding Serbia. With Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the EU, trucks from Turkey only have to undergo one customs check, while on Corridor 10 there are as many as six customs controls, which are complicated and take a lot of time. Transit costs that are significantly larger than on Corridor 4 present additional problems for drivers. "Fees and charges for use of our roads and the price of tolls are as much as ten times higher than transport prices through these countries. That’s a very important advantage for them. On the other hand, we don’t have VAT refunds on petrol that these countries have, and that is an important factor for operators when deciding which routes and corridors to use,” says Dusan Mladenovic, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce’s Traffic Association. Corridor 4 that passes through Bulgaria and Romania is already at an advantage, because Europe has given it the status of a trans-European route, giving it a slightly higher degree of importance than Corridor 10 which is a trans-national corridor. If Serbia loses this traffic, it will lose not only earnings from toll fees but also money from EU funds that will be transferred to more pressing priorities. Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic recently announced that one of the priorities of the new government would be the construction of Corridor 10. He said that the contract with the concessionaires for the Horgos-Pozega highway—which includes a section of Corridor 10—would be terminated if they failed to meet the deadline for guaranteeing the necessary funds, which expires on June 30.

Traffic steering clear of Serbia

Even though Corridor 10 is the fastest and best road connecting the Middle East and Western Europe, drivers are avoiding Serbia.

With Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the EU, trucks from Turkey only have to undergo one customs check, while on Corridor 10 there are as many as six customs controls, which are complicated and take a lot of time.

Transit costs that are significantly larger than on Corridor 4 present additional problems for drivers.

"Fees and charges for use of our roads and the price of tolls are as much as ten times higher than transport prices through these countries. That’s a very important advantage for them. On the other hand, we don’t have VAT refunds on petrol that these countries have, and that is an important factor for operators when deciding which routes and corridors to use,” says Dušan Mladenović, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce’s Traffic Association.

Corridor 4 that passes through Bulgaria and Romania is already at an advantage, because Europe has given it the status of a trans-European route, giving it a slightly higher degree of importance than Corridor 10 which is a trans-national corridor.

If Serbia loses this traffic, it will lose not only earnings from toll fees but also money from EU funds that will be transferred to more pressing priorities.

Economy Minister Mlađan Dinkić recently announced that one of the priorities of the new government would be the construction of Corridor 10.

He said that the contract with the concessionaires for the Horgoš-Požega highway—which includes a section of Corridor 10—would be terminated if they failed to meet the deadline for guaranteeing the necessary funds, which expires on June 30.