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A delegation from the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) arrived in Belgrade and one of the key points of the negotiations with Serbia will be the construction of a “highway of peace” that will connect Nis and Pristina.
The works should begin at the end of the year, and the construction of the Nis – Merdare route, 77 kilometers long, is planned first. The start of the works refers to the section of the road from Nis to Plocnik, 33 kilometers long, and for this, as has been said on several occasions in the Government, it takes two and a half years and 250 million euros.
The estimated value of the second route of this 44-kilometer Plocnik to Merdar road is about 570 million.
The Nis-Merdare-Pristina highway will allow Serbia to access the Albanian port of Durres on the Adriatic Sea.
It will also connect around half a million Serbian citizens living in the Pirot, Nisava and Toplica districts. The road from Pristina through Tirana to Durres and the Adriatic Sea has already been built.
It would practically be another highway that would directly connect Serbia with the sea. With the completion of the southern and eastern branches of Corridor 10, tourists from Serbia to Greece and Bulgaria do not get off the highway, and with the opening of Corridor 11 from Surcin to Obrenovac, they have at their disposal the Milos Veliki highway, from Surcin to Cacak. Montenegrin coast.
Minister Zorana Mihajlovic says that on Wednesday, the DFC will discuss the connection with Pristina on a total of four roads over a length of 267 kilometers.
“It involves the construction of the Nis – Merdare – Pristina highway, 100 kilometers long, the construction of the Bujanovac – Konculj – Gjilan – Strpce highway of 78 kilometers, then the Raska – Jarinje – Kosovska Mitrovica highway at 61 kilometers as well as the rehabilitation of the Ribarice – Brnjak – Zubin highway The stream is 28 kilometers long, “said Mihajlović.
Mihajlovic points out that the focus will be on continuing to finance the road from Nis to Merdar and Pristina, for which more than 750 million euros are needed.
Recall that the director of the US DFC, Adam Boehler, and the president of the Export-Import Bank (EXIM), Kimberly Reed, signed letters on September 15 about the intentions of the two parties to help finance the construction of the highway of the peace, which has long been a key part of the normalization talks.
The two parties previously, in January 2020, with the mediation of Richard Grenel (special envoy of the President of the United States for the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo), signed letters of intent on the renewal of air traffic and the development of road traffic and railway.
“This did not happen all at once. We have already spoken before the construction of the road from Nis to Pristina. Our country has shown that it is open and that our priority is to connect with the region. The US development agency has the opportunity to invest. outside the United States for $ 60 billion. ” We need to get the most important thing for us out of that, and that is building the infrastructure, ”Line Minister Zorana Mihajlović said.
The value of these investments is 3.7 billion euros, and with the Belgrade-Nish express railway, investments will exceed 5.5 billion euros.
So far, US investments in Serbia amount to one billion dollars and have employed more than 20,000 people.
The president of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Marko Cadez, said that the opening of the DFC office in Serbia will bring visible and concrete benefits for the economy of the entire region, through cheap loans to small and medium-sized companies, financial infrastructure and support for investment projects in the private sector, energy, the food industry and high technology logistics.
They also invest in energy, healthcare, and support small businesses.
According to the official website of the DFC (US International Development Finance Corporation), this organization is actually an American development bank. DFC works with the private sector and finances solutions to the greatest challenges facing developing countries today.
They invest in a variety of sectors, such as energy, healthcare, critical infrastructure, and technology. DFC also provides financing for small businesses and women entrepreneurs to create new jobs in growing markets.
The US institution offers direct loans and guarantees to small and medium-sized companies, supports technical development, and also supports investment funds. Participate in projects in almost 100 countries around the world.
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