Faster and more cost-efficient deliveries to buyers - Construction of intermodal terminal in Batajnica starts in 2012

Introduction of intermodal transport will make it possible for products and goods to reach end-buyers in Serbia in a faster, quality and more cost-efficient way. Construction of the first contemporary logistics center, worth 20 million euros, should commence in the first half of 2012 in Batajnica, on a 180 hectare lot, while people at the Ministry of Infrastructure expect its construction to be finished in 18 months.

The central position within the logistics center is reserved for an intermodal terminal, the place where road and railway transport will intersect, and that is where containers unloaded from trains arriving from the Adriatic ports and European centers will be reloaded, stored and distributed by road vehicles to end-users within the radius of 100 to 150 kilometers. In that way, the high logistics costs included in the price of products in Serbia would be reduced to the level of the European average. The share of logistics costs in the total price of products in the EU countries ranges between 10 and 12 percent. In our country, that share amounts to 20 or 25 percent, primarily due to non-existence of an intermodal terminal.

The benefit of the construction of that terminal will be reflected in the creation of new jobs and the presence of a larger number of investors in the future.

- A completely built and developed logistics center in Belgrade may provide 1,000 new jobs, while the construction of a terminal is going to attract over 100 domestic and foreign companies - Minister of Infrastructure Milutin Mrkonjic said at the presentation of the project Facilitating Intermodal Transport in Serbia.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy has considered several locations and chosen a 180 hectare lot in Batajnica as the best, primarily because it is the place where rail and road routes of Corridor 10 intersect. The terminal will be situated between the railway station Batajnica and the cloverleaf interchange Batajnica, which is currently under construction as part of the bypass around Belgrade.

- Completion of the first phase of the intermodal terminal in Belgrade will enable the transport of 50,000 TEU in the first few years, which means that, every year, between 1,000 and 1,500 new trains will be using the railway tracks of the Serbian railway company. In this way, the volume of railway transport will be increased, whereas all customs clearing, freight-forwarding and logistics operations will be relocated from the city center to the suburbs – said Miodrag Poledica, head of the Department for Intermodal and Railway Transport within the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy.

Poledica also noted that the construction would be carried out in two phases.

- The logistics center will have four rails, a crane, a storage zone, and other equipment. According to the project, there will also be a space to expand the center in the second phase – said Poledica.

City architect Dejan Vasovic stated that Belgrade would prepare the whole planning documentation on time in order to enable successful implementation of that project.

Representatives of the EU Delegation to Serbia and the World Bank, Adriano Martins and Loup Brefort, respectively, pointed out that Serbia was not using its geographic position enough and that it might soon become the regional logistics center for intermodal transport.

Reminding that the combined transport terminals world wide save money and contribute to greater competitiveness of the economy sector, Brefort said that the construction of such terminal in Serbia would make it possible for the country to have more competitive trade and prices, which should also be of assistance in the fight against big inflationary pressures.

Brefort said that the World Bank would analyze trade activities in Serbia in June and July and that the conclusions could be used to help the reforms aimed at "reducing the rate of inflation in Serbia".

Serbia does not have any contemporary intermodal terminals, while Europe has 320 of the kind. Germany alone has 220, while 25 such terminals can be found in Italy, it was said at aforementioned meeting.

Implementation of the project Facilitating Intermodal Transport in Serbia was commenced in September 2010. The project is worth EUR 2 million and the funds were provided from a donation of the EU. The consortium entrusted with the design of the project is EGIS-BCEOM International from France, which is going to prepare the project and tender documentation for the construction of the terminal. The meeting at Hyatt hotel was organized by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy and Business Info Group.