Eight companies compete over Belgrade bridge

Eight companies compete over Belgrade bridge

Reports said that companies participating in the bid launched by Serbia's Land Development Agency in April are from Russia, France, Austria, Germany and Croatia.

No other details on the companies were available.

According to reports, the prospective winner will design and build the bridge, which will link Belgrade's southern Banovo Brdo area with northern New Beograd.

The bridge will have a major impact on decongestion of notoriously clogged key routes linking southern Belgrade's suburbs with the center of the city.

The value of the project is estimated at EUR 161mn.

Some EUR 70mn will come from a loan by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), while Belgrade City Hall and the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR) will allocate EUR 87.9mn and 3mn respectively.

Watchdogs have repeatedly warned that the development of the bridge over Ada Ciganlija Lake and island, Belgrade's main summer resort and recreation centre, will damage the environment and pollute an area which records millions of visits every year.