Serbia Voz Regional Depots

Overview
Project Summary Document
Environmental and Social Documentation
Procurement
Complaints

Overview

Provision of a sovereign-guaranteed loan of up to € 25 million to Serbia Voz, the state-owned railway passenger operator of Serbia.

The proceeds of the loan will be used to finance the rehabilitation and upgrade of two regional depots and the construction of a new regional depot (used for the maintenance of the Company's rolling stock), as well as the acquisition of new maintenance equipment and supervision.

Project ID 53488

Status Disbursing

Location

Serbia

Business Sector

Transport

Notice Type

State

Project timeline

Exploratory
Passed Concept Review
Passed Structure Review
Passed Final Review
Board Approved
Signed
Implementing
Completed

Company Contact Information

Masan Radojevic
masan.radojevic@srbvoz.rs
Nemanjina 6, Belgrade, Serbia

Project ID 53488

Status Disbursing

Location

Serbia

Business Sector

Transport

Notice Type

State

Environmental Category

Approval Date

20 Sep 2023

Disclosure date

07 Sep 2022

Project description

Provision of a sovereign-guaranteed loan of up to € 25 million to Serbia Voz, the state-owned railway passenger operator of Serbia.

Project objectives

The Project aims to improve the Company's maintenance capacity to support the growth of its rolling stock, as well as to increase the efficiency of passenger services through improved maintenance practices and to generate energy savings through energy efficiency measures.

Transition impact

ETI Score:74

nsition Impact of the project will be derived from:

Inclusive

The project will introduce improved policy practices in the area of skills development in the railway sector to support a holistic approach to creating a workforce for the future.

Well-governed

The project will support the Company's efforts to improve its governance and internal controls, with a particular focus on risk management, internal capacity building and internal policies for strategic and short-term business planning.

Client information

SRBIJA VOZ JSC

Serbia Voz, a joint stock company, established as the national railway passenger operator, fully owned by the Republic of Serbia.

EBRD Finance Summary

EUR 25,000,000.00

Total project cost

EUR 25,000,000.00

Additionality

The Bank's additionality is derived from i) provision of missing long-term financing in the country to match the life of infrastructure investments; ii) promotion of best standards on corporate governance; iii) gender additionality deriving from the promotion of greater gender equality within the rail sector.

Environmental & Social Summary

Categorised B (ESP 2019). The environmental and social due diligence ("ESDD") for the Project was carried out internally by ESD and comprised of an environmental and social ("E&S") assessment of the Project, site visits to regional maintenance depots, a review of the current operations and E&S supporting documentation and company's E&S capacity to manage risks and impacts.

ESDD confirmed a clear understanding of the E&S arrangements currently implemented. Various E&S documents were shared including operating permits, environmental procedures, monitoring data and training records. Serbia Voz has various internal rulebooks, operational procedures, guidelines and formal mechanisms in place. The ESDD has identified that the Company has not been certified with independent accreditation for its environmental, health and safety and social ("EHS") management system, however it has a set of internal EHS procedures in place for management of E&S issues and risks and has introduced both internal and external reporting channels on EHS issues. The Company has the necessary organisational capacities for the management of E&S aspects in line with the PRs in relation to environmental issues, human resources, pollution prevention and control, waste management and management of health and safety ("H&S") issues, supply chain and contractor management, and stakeholder management. Contractor and supply chain management is managed through standard tender documents and public procurement laws. An environmental and social action plan ("ESAP") has been developed and will be agreed with the Company prior to Board approval. The ESAP stipulates development of E&S policy at the level of the company, development of construction E&S management plan ("CESMP") with sub-plans (construction waste management plan, asbestos management plan, H&S management plan, emergency preparedness and response plan (including fire safety) and traffic management plan), and prevention of forced labour risks associated with potential procurement of solar modules, if any.

Serbia Voz is required to meet national labour law and sector-specific regulations related to rail transport in Serbia. The Company complies with national requirements for labour and working conditions, which are in line with core International Labour Organisation ("ILO") conventions and forced labour and child labour are prohibited by local legislation. The Company has an active Collective Agreement in place, Risk Assessment Act, Rulebook on the organization and systematization of workplaces and a written internal Code of Ethics for employees. The Company has a well-established HR function which manages labour and working conditions adequately. Additionally, ESAP includes improvement measures related to external grievance mechanism to fully comply with PR2.

The Company has regular environmental inspections and ESDD confirmed arrangements for meeting national requirements related to wastewater / waste management and emergency preparedness and response are in place. Adequate waste management is ensured through day-to-day implementation of waste management plan. In line with the ESAP, the Company will need to undertake mitigation measures and remedial actions regarding spills and pollution, and circular economy principles to fully comply with PR3. Adequate H&S risk management and internal capacity has been established for managing risks to workers in line with internal Risk Assessment Act. Policies and procedures reviewed during ESDD also align with good international practice. In line with PR4, Serbia Voz will need to implement asbestos surveys, management of asbestos waste, as well as climate resilience measures, as stipulated in the ESAP.

None of the regional depots are in biodiversity sensitive areas, cultural heritage sites or near to sensitive receptors. Land acquisition will be needed for construction of the new regional maintenance depot in Nis, for which the state land will be secured. Serbia Voz engages with various stakeholders, publicise relevant company information, has contact details on their website and generally has an operational grievance mechanism in place. Further formalisation of this would be beneficial including updating their complaints procedure on their website.

The Bank will continue to monitor Serbia Voz activities through annual E&S monitoring reports and site visits if necessary.

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

It is envisaged that TC support for this operation will be provided to assist the Company with: (i) Support for the implementation of inclusion measures, including supporting youth and women's access to skills and employment as well as services in the railway sector, and (ii) Assistance for the implementation of further corporate governance improvements, including corporate governance specialist and legal consultants.

Company Contact Information

Masan Radojevic
masan.radojevic@srbvoz.rs
Nemanjina 6, Belgrade, Serbia

PSD last updated

19 Jul 2023

Understanding transition

Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For business opportunities with the EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

The ESP and its associated Environmental and Social Requirements (ESRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”. The ESP and the ESRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation, and to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about the environmental and social (E&S) performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD also requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts of projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.

More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.

Integrity and compliance

The EBRD's Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all of the Bank's activities in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The EBRD believes that identifying and resolving issues in the project assessment and approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts andhelps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.

OCCO is further responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, either within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. OCCO will follow-up all matters reported. It will review all matters reported. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank's countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

The AIP, which entered into force on 1 January 2025, sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.

Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD enquiries form.

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (for example, through the client’s project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).

IPAM independently reviews project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the mechanism is: to support dialogue between project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or the project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.

Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate and how to submit a Request for review. Alternatively, contact IPAM by email at ipam@ebrd.com for guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.

Environmental and Social Documentation is not available for this project.

Selected procurement notices related to this project may be shown below. Further procurement opportunities related to this and other projects, if available, maybe be viewed in the EBRD Procurement Portal.

The EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Access to Information policy (AIP) and Project Accountability Policy (PAP) enable sound and sustainable development in its projects. The Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) deals with complaints about environmental, social and disclosure matters related to the Bank’s investments.

No complaints about this project have been made so far.

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Serbia Voz Regional Depots

Overview

Project timeline

Company Contact Information

Project description

Project objectives

Transition impact

Client information

EBRD Finance Summary

Total project cost

Additionality

Environmental & Social Summary

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Company Contact Information

PSD last updated

Understanding transition

Business opportunities

General enquiries

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

Integrity and compliance

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)