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After the agreement in Washington, the pro-government media in Serbia buzz about the “arrival of dollars” for infrastructure projects and that the US Development Agency is coming to share those dollars, that is, to manage the planned projects. Minister Zorana Mihajlović expects US investments amounting to at least 3.7 billion euros in the road and rail from Niš to Merdar. However, few mention that the purse for those same projects has already been partially decided by the European Union, and that the construction of the Nis-Pristina highway will start with European money, not American.
Apparently, the Americans have not only won a diplomatic victory for the European Union, but also intend to take over projects from the Berlin Process package, such as the highway of peace from Albania, through Kosovo to Nis. In other words, the Union has already granted 40 million euros non-refundable for the Nis – Plocnik tranche, and the European Investment Bank has provided a loan of 100 million euros, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development should give almost as much more . But that’s just a 20-mile stretch, and that’s where the Americans come into the picture.
“We will continue to speak with the US Development Agency. It should be said that that agency has the opportunity to invest $ 60 billion outside the United States, and that no US agency has had that opportunity so far,” Minister Zorana Mihajlovic said.
The Americans could, the minister announces, finance the entire road to the line with Kosovo, as well as contribute money for the fast train from Nis to Pristina, for which a total of 3.7 billion euros or just over 4 billion euros is needed. of dollars.
However, warns NIN editor-in-chief, long-term economic journalist Milan Ćulibrk, this is not about non-refundable money, but about additional debt that Serbia will have to pay.
“I am afraid that if those 4-5 billion arrive, they will arrive with interest, and I only ask one question: will those railways and those roads be economically viable? How many cars must pass a day so that one day alone I am afraid it will be taken over by the citizens, “says Ćulibrk.
For Ćulibrko, the key question is whether the US Development Agency, which comes to Belgrade under the agreement, only grants a loan or also conditions who gets the jobs.
“Does that mean Bechtel gets all these jobs as it will build the Moravian Corridor?” Asks Ćulibrk.
Commenting that there is a saying in the world that the country Bechtel later arrives in enjoys US protection, Ćulibrk responds: “Bechtel is already in Serbia, and I don’t feel protected.”
Six months before the conclusion of the agreement in Washington, the US DFC delegation was in Belgrade and informed about possible projects. There appears to be interest in rebuilding the Belgrade-Nish railway as well, but more will be known on September 21, when the US Development Agency delegation arrives in Belgrade.
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