BELGRADE (Serbia), June 11 (SeeNews) – China's Power Construction Corporation (Powerchina) is in talks with Belgrade city authorities over the project for construction of a metro network in the Serbian capital, deputy city mayor Goran Vesic has said.
Powerchina plans to start the construction of Belgrade metro in 2020 and complete the project within five years, Vesic said in a government press release on Monday.
"The Chinese representatives guarantee that they can finish the job in five years. Their proposal is to start working on both metro lines, because they have extensive experience in this area, the most modern machinery, along with secured funding," Vesic said.
In April, Serbia's government signed a cooperation agreement with Powerchina for the project. Under the terms of the agreement, Serbia and Powerchina will commence joint work on project documentation, spatial plans and the model of financing for the project.
"We also negotiate with French partners. We would be very pleased if French companies become part of a consortium with Chinese firms for the construction of the metro but this should be left to them to agree," Vesic said.
According to the design of the project, the metro network of Serbia's capital will consist of two lines, 21.3 kilometres and 19.8 kilometres in length respectively. The system will also integrate four urban rail lines.
The first line of the metro will run along the Sava river, crossing downtown Belgrade, and will link the Makisko Polje area in the southwestern part of the Serbian capital to the Mirijevo neighbourhood in the northeast, near the Danube river. The second line will connect Zemun, a northwestern suburb of Belgrade, to the Mirijevo neighbourhood through the New Belgrade urban municipality.