China Development Bank "interested in projects"

China Development Bank "interested in projects"

"It is very significant that the Chinese see the railway line as a regional project for linking southern and central Europe, and with this railway line Serbia would have the possibility of selling goods on the European market", Mihajlović said after the meeting in the Serbian government building.

The CDB delegation expressed the bank's readiness to participate in ongoing and new projects, and they also want to invest in Serbian ports, Mihajlović told Tanjug.

Serbia is already implementing certain projects in collaboration with China - the bridge on the Danube River in Belgrade and two sections of the motorway from Belgrade to the Montenegrin border - from Obrenovac to Ub and from Lajkovac to Ljig, respectively, Mihajlović said.

Serbia is currently in discussions with two Chinese companies about the possibility of building sections of the motorway between Belgrade and the Montenegrin border as part of a concession deal, she said.

Mihajlović and the CDB delegation also visited the CIP Institute of Transportation, where the construction of the high-speed railway line from Belgrade to Budapest was discussed.

Later in the day, the delegation will visit the construction site of the bridge on the Danube, as well as a Serbian port and the Yugoslav River Shipping public enterprise.

It is good that the Chinese are interested in ports and transport by water, since that mode of transport is underdeveloped in Serbia due to a lack of modern technologies, Mihajlović said.

The CDB is one of China's three state-owned banks that support the country's development strategies in line with the five-year plans drawn up by the State Council, the highest state body.

The bank mostly funds projects in the fields of electric power, road construction, railways, oil and petrochemical products, coal industry, post and telecommunications and agriculture.