HUNGARIAN–SERBIAN RAILWAYS PROJECT: RECONSTRUCTION AND MODERNIZATION OF THE BELGRADE – NOVI SAD – SUBOTICA – HUNGARIAN BORDER (KELEBIJA) – (BUDAPEST) RAILWAY – BELGRADE CENTER – STARA PAZOVA SECTION AND NOVI SAD – SUBOTICA SECTION
Thu, 07-31-2025 - 12:55
Project carrier:
Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure
Project title:
HUNGARIAN–SERBIAN RAILWAYS PROJECT: RECONSTRUCTION AND MODERNIZATION OF THE BELGRADE – NOVI SAD – SUBOTICA – HUNGARIAN BORDER (KELEBIJA) – (BUDAPEST) RAILWAY – BELGRADE CENTER – STARA PAZOVA SECTION AND NOVI SAD – SUBOTICA SECTION
Contracting Authority:
Government of the Republic of Serbia, Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, “Infrastructure of Serbian Railways” a.d.
Main contractor:
ЈV CRIC-CCCC
Investor:
"Infrastructure of Serbian Railways" jsc
Financier:
Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure
Contractor:
The contractor is the Chinese consortium "China Railway International" and "China Communications Construction Company".
Supervision:
DB Engineering & Consulting GmbH (leading member of the bidder group)
Designer:
Institute of Transportation CIP and CRDC (for the Novi Sad – Subotica railway section)
Strategic and legal basis:
Decision on the National Public Railway Infrastructure Program for the period from 2017 to 2021 (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia” No. 53/17)
The commercial contract for the Belgrade Center – Stara Pazova section was signed in November 2016 and came into effect in December 2017.
Annex 1 of the Commercial Contract with a Price List, signed in July 2018
Loan agreement for a preferential buyer credit for the Project of Modernization and Reconstruction of the Hungarian-Serbian Railway Connection on the territory of the Republic of Serbia, specifically for the Belgrade Center – Stara Pazova section, signed with the Chinese Export-Import Bank in May 2017, was ratified and published in the "Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia – International Treaties," No. 11/17, and came into force in December 2017.
The project was contracted pursuant to the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation in the Field of Infrastructure between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the People’s Republic of China.
Direct contracting based on an intergovernmental agreement
The significance of the project:
The project is of exceptional strategic importance, as it constitutes part of the main transport transversal corridor of the Republic of Serbia and directly connects three of the five largest cities in the Republic of Serbia. This section also accounts for nearly half the length of Pan-European Corridor Xb and is part of the unified European railway network (TEN-T) within the territory of the Republic of Serbia. It represents a crucial part of the southern route of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, linking by rail the maritime container hub of the People’s Republic of China in Piraeus and ports in the Far East with nations across Southeast, Central, and Eastern Europe. This is the first trilateral cooperation project between China and CIES (1+16) in the field of transport infrastructure that has entered the implementation phase.
Status of the project:
Section of the railway Belgrade Center – Stara Pazova
The works have been completed, and the railway was opened for commercial traffic on March 19, 2022.
Section of the railway Novi Sad – Subotica
The railway is scheduled to open for traffic in the third quarter of 2025, following the completion of the works.
Investment value:
Component 1: 474,710,551.03 USD
Component 2: 1,162,810,000.00 USD
Start of the project:
For the Belgrade Center – Stara Pazova section, works began in early June 2018.
For the Novi Sad – Subotica section – state works began on July 1, 2022.
Completion of the project:
For the Belgrade Center – Stara Pazova section, works were completed in early March 2022.
The railway is scheduled to open for traffic in the third quarter of 2025, following the completion of the works.
Source of finance:
Based on the Commercial Agreement for the Belgrade Center – Stara Pazova section, the total value amounts to USD 367,440,587.64, and pursuant to the Loan Agreement with the Chinese Export-Import Bank, the loan funds total USD 297,638,159.00, representing 85% of the total project value.
Based on the Commercial Agreement for the Novi Sad – Subotica section, the total value amounts to USD 1,162,810,000.00, and pursuant to the Loan Agreement with the Chinese Export-Import Bank, the loan funds total USD 988,388,500.00 (85% of the total project value), while the Republic of Serbia’s contribution amounts to USD 174,421,500.00 (15% of the total project value).
Project description:
Component 1: The subject of the Hungarian-Serbian railway project is the reconstruction and modernization of the existing single-track line, and the construction of a second track for mixed passenger and freight traffic with speeds up to 200 km/h on the Belgrade – Novi Sad – Subotica – state border (Kelebija) route, in line with the goal of modernizing the entire Belgrade – Budapest railway (Pan-European Corridor Xb). The railway has three characteristic sections within the Republic of Serbia, one of which is the Belgrade Center – Stara Pazova section (34.5 km).
Component 2: The railway has three characteristic sections in the Republic of Serbia, one of which is the Novi Sad – Subotica – state border section (108.1 km).