Project Description
Parallel financing, together with the World Bank (‘WB’) and the European Investment Bank (‘EIB’) for the construction of a new section of Corridor X from Nis to Dimitrovgrad (‘E-80’), located in the south east of Serbia towards the border with Bulgaria. The section has a total length of 83 km. The original operation included two sections of Corridor X between Nis and Dimitrovgrad (Crvena Reka to Ciflik and Pirot East to Dimitrovgrad, with a total distance of 35 km). In 2012, the Bank approved the use of loan savings in the amount of EUR 20 million for the construction of parallel access road Bela Palanka – Ciflik - Pirot. In 2018, the Bank approved the use of additional EUR 54.3 million of loan savings to include construction of New Regional Motorway Control Centre at Nis; construction of New State Road Section and Rehabilitation of Existing Sections of State Roads, connecting to the Corridor X Nis - Dimitrovgrad Motorway including construction of Sopot Interchange (E80); rehabilitation of certain sections of A-I (E75) Motorway, including improvement of Batajnica Interchange and construction of Gramadje Interchange. Also, Consultancy services relating to the above specified works and Dispute Adjudication Board services relating to any EBRD financed works contracts.
The project presents continued support for the development of Serbia’s key road transport infrastructure which is Corridor X. Corridor X in Serbia is the main north-south corridor running through the country and as such is essential for trade and regional integration.
Transition Impact
The project promotes road safety, the introduction of electronic tolling and trade facilitation focussing on the border crossing:
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Electronic Tolling: Implementation of an electronic toll collection system on the E-80, and providing a TC project to develop a Plan for private sector participation in toll collection.
- Road Safety: The transition impact in terms of road safety to enhance road safety management capacity within the key ministries and agencies, and introducing systemic change in the way road safety is managed in Serbia.
The Client
The client is the Republic of Serbia.
The executing agency is Koridori Srbije DOO (‘KS’), a company fully owned by the Republic of Serbia established specifically to carry out the tasks relating to construction of transport infrastructure, assuming the role of the Employer/Investor on the highway construction projects, organizing and executing highway construction specialized work, including procurement of works, services and goods in accordance with the IFIs rules, land acquisition, provision of planning and designing documentation, execution of works, construction supervision services for highway construction and construction highway planning for the foremost infrastructure priority in Serbia.
EBRD Finance
A sovereign loan of EUR 150 million, part of a larger International Financial Institutions project, with parallel financing coming from the WB in an amount of EUR 310,2 million and the EIB in an amount of EUR 579 million, and the Republic of Serbia in the amount of EUR 226.5 million.
Project Cost
EUR 1,377 million.
Environmental Impact
Details of the proposed road sections for the loan savings project have been reviewed by ESD and are deemed to be Category B. It was confirmed a full EIA procedure under Serbian law is not required for any of the new road sections and that the project has been structured to meet the Banks PRs.
Many of the Sub-projects were identified through consultation with local communities as projects of significant importance which could support local economic growth and sustainable development. Meetings have been held in 2017 with representatives of municipalities to validate the selected sub-projects and confirm their viability. In 2018, consultations have been held in the community of Malča and Gramadje in order to inform the community of the planned construction of the Malča and Gramadje interchange respectively, and discuss potential impacts and their mitigation with a particular focus on land-acquisition. Similar consultations are planned in the other communities affected by sub-projects prior to the initiation of construction.
A specific Land Acquisition and Resettlement Framework (LARF) has been developed for this project as a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) both of which have been reviewed by EBRD and are compliant with the 2014 ESP. The SEP identifies potentially affected stakeholders and interested parties as well as people vulnerable to the effects of the project and provides a plan for future stakeholder engagement as well as a description of the project grievance mechanism. The SEP is publicly available in English and Serbian.
The new roadworks to be financed with loan savings will largely be carried out within the footprint of existing roadways and interchanges with the exception of a traffic loop (at Malča on Highway E80) and three interchanges (Sopot on Highway E80; Gramadje & Batajnica both on Highway E75), which will require land acquisition. Preliminary assessments indicate that no physical displacement will be required. A total of 3 hectares of land will be acquired covering 200 land-parcels with the majority used for agriculture purposes. The LARF has been modified to integrate lessons learned from the land acquisition on previous road construction financed by EBRD and is publicly available in English and Serbian.
Road sections 7, 8, 9 and 11 are inside of nature protected zone – Nature park “Stara Planina”. However, the works are to be within the existing road corridor and expected to be of limited duration and outside of any sensitive periods. A request to the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia was made by the Corridors of Serbia in September 2017 and a decision was granted for work to be permitted, pending the necessary consents and licenses with certain conditions within these areas.
The project is expected to have positive effects in terms of road safety. Removing and replacing road surfaces will also eliminate existing defects and also arrest disintegration of the existing road surface which would have a negative effect to road users. Corridors of Serbia have previously engaged with a consultant to undertake a number of pilot projects on road safety which included Traffic Safety Education for Children (Safe way to School) and Road Safety media campaign on seat belt usage. Finally, in 2016 the Government, with support from the World Bank, developed a Gender focused Road Safety Action Plan which intends to support the implementation the National Road Safety Strategy.
A revised Environmental and Social Action Plan has been prepared for the sub-projects. Progress related to the implementation of the ESAPs related to the overall Corridor X project has been satisfactory to date and annual monitoring continues.
There is an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment available for this project.
Technical Cooperation
The following technical co-operations funds were part of this project - consultancy services for assistance in the development of a Plan for private sector participation in toll collection. TC funding of EUR 70,000 has been secured.
Implementation summary
This was the fourth loan supporting the roads sector of Serbia. The facility consist of a senior loan in the amount of up to EUR 150 million for the benefit of the Koridori Srbije d.o.o. (former Koridor 10 d.o.o.), as an implementing agency for the project. The loan is a sovereign loan to the Republic of Serbia. The operation enabled the construction of two sections of motorway along a section of Corridor X in Serbia from Nis to the Bulgarian border, which is part of Serbia’s core road network and facilitate both trade and regional integration, including additional road construction and rehabilitation work on Corridor X and approached roads to Corridor X, as a result of loan savings.
The project is part of large parallel financed investment for Corridor X, which is one of ten pan-European corridors identified by the European Commission, and co-financed by both the European Investment Bank (EIB) in the amount of EUR 300 million and the World Bank (WB) in the amount of EUR 119.94 million, as well as the Republic of Serbia in the amount of EUR 226.5 million.
The project also promotes road safety and the introduction of electronic tolling, including privatisation initiatives. TC support has been provided by the Western Balkans Fund to develop a plan for introducing the private sector into road toll collection and assisting in the preparation of the by-laws necessary for the implementation of the Roads Law.
Contact information
Zoran Babic, Acting Director
zoran.babic@koridorisrbije.rs
+381 11 3344 174
www.koridorisrbije.rs
21 Kralja Petra street, 11000 Belgrade
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