Belgrade's new Danube bridge officially opened

Belgrade's new Danube bridge officially opened

Known colloquially as "the Zemun-Borca" or "the Chinese bridge" it has been officially named the Pupin's Bridge, after Serbian scientist Mihajlo Pupin.

This large infrastructure project's main contractor was the China Road and Bridge Corporation, while the financing came mostly from China's Exim bank, as well as from the Serbian government and the City of Belgrade.

Aleksandar Vucic addressed those gathered today to say that the event was "far more important than everything he and his Chinese colleague did in the past two days," i.e., during the China -CEEC summit - "because this event glorifies deeds, not empty words."

Saying he was quoting Serbian writer and Nobel Prize winner Ivo Andric, Vucic then stated that of all the things humans build nothing is more valuable than bridges, as they "belong to everyone, treat everyone equally, are more durable than other buildings," and, "serve to nothing that is evil."

More photos "And nothing of what was said could be more true," he added, having previously called on those present to welcome Li Keqiang with "a large and cordial round of applause."

Vucic said it was a great honor to open the bridge along with his Chinese counterpart, "as the first achievement of Chinese builders in Europe but also a lasting testament to the Serbia-China friendship," stressing this was "only the beginning."

"We will not stop, we will continue to build tirelessly. In 2016 and 2017 we will finish more railroads and highways than any other European country," he said, and added that a large number of those projects - "new roads and bridges to the future" - will be done "with our Chinese friends."

According to Vucic, citizens of Serbia need "connecting more than anything" in order to "bridge all obstacles and differences":

"Nothing else could be said about the Pupin's Bridge either, that was built together by Serbian and Chinese companies. It is not merely a structure, but a symbol of the human need to connect."

By naming the bridge after Mihajlo Pupin, "the people of Serbia gave back only a part of what they received" from the scientist and inventor, the prime minister remarked. He thanked President Tomislav Nikolic for his constant support and help in realizing the project, and Serb Republic (RS) President Milorad Dodik, who "always stood with Serbia during the building of important infrastructure projects."

Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang then addressed those gathered, to say he was reminded of the Serbian movie "The Bridge" and a song from its soundtrack, "Bella Ciao" - that were popular in China - but that he was not there to say "goodbye" but instead to say he will be "again spending time with his friends."

"Let this bridge be a bridge of friendship and improvement of the friendship between our two peoples. This bridge is a joint result of our two countries and our two peoples. Big congratulations and gratitude to all the people, politicians, technicians, workers and ordinary people, who made a big contribution to our joint success," he said.

Keqiang noted that Serbia and China signed a memorandum of understanding to modernize the Belgrade-Budapest railroad, and said the project would be finished in two years' time.

The ceremony today was also attended by former Belgrade Mayor Dragan Djilas, who was one of the signatories of the contract to build the bridge and during whose tenure the construction works began. The bridge is only the second in Belgrade across the largest river that flows through Serbia, and the first to be built in 79 years. It is 1,507 meters long, 29.1 meters wide, and 22.8 meters tall, with the main span taking up 362 meters.

It has six lanes for traffic and two more for pedestrians and cyclists. The bridge's access roads will amount to a total of 21.6 kilometers, with the Zrenjanin-Pancevo road section due to be finished in September 2015.

The bridge - a part of the so-called Northern Tangent - connects to Corridor 10 and 11 highways, and cuts travel by nearly 30 kilometers for those traveling between Belgrade's municipality of Zemun and the suburb of Borca.

The total value of the project, including the bridge's access roads, is some USD 260 million, 85 percent of which came from China's Exim Bank loans.