Price of Novi Sad-Kelebija railroad increased by USD 87 million

The price of the works on the railroad from Novi Sad to Kelebija has grown by around USD 87 million compared to the initially agreed price, as can be seen from the annex to the agreement between the Serbian and Chinese sides.

The documentation was published after a series of protests and students blocking the faculties in Serbia, a day after president Aleksandar Vucic announced that it would be made public.

Annex 4 to the Agreement on the modernization and revitalization of the Hungarian-Serbian rail connection was signed on March 15, 2024, by the Government of Serbia and Serbian Railways Infrastructure with the Chinese consortium CRIC/CCCC.

The value of this Annex is USD 52.3 million, as can be seen from the document published on the website of the Ministry of Construction.

The last part of the document features a table showcasing all the additional works that contribute to the increase of the price envisaged by Annex 4.

However, this is not the only increase of the price of the job, as can be seen from the documentation published on the website of the ministry.

The document of Serbian Railways Infrastructure JSC of March 8 – a week before the signing of Annex 4 – reveals by how much the price was increased with the previous annexes.

It is a memo to the Board of Directors of this company in which the proposed Decision on accepting the Annex 4 is considered. It also lists the previous annexes, so it says that Annex 1 defines the Price Table.

Annex 2 increased the price of the job for the first time, by USD 6.5 million, due to the subsequent works. With the further realization of the project, Annex 3 was also signed, especially due to the subsequent works and variations, and that annex increased the price by USD 28.1 million.

This means that the price of the job was increased by a total of USD 86.9 million, concluding with Annex 4 of March 2024.

The commercial agreement on the modernization and reconstruction of the Hungarian-Serbian rail connection for the Novi Sad-Subotica-state border section was signed on May 28, 2018, by the Government of Serbia, Serbian Railways Infrastructure JSC and the Chinese companies China Railway International and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).

The initial price of the job was agreed at the time at slightly over USD 1.16 billion.

The plan is for the job to be financed with a loan that Serbia will take out from the Chinese Bank, and the agreed price is said to be “subject to adjustments in line with the Agreement.”

Vlada Republike Srbije

Infrastruktura Železnice Srbije Beograd

Ministarstvo građevinarstva, saobraćaja i infrastrukture Republike Srbije

China Railway International co. ltd. Serbia ogranak Beograd

China Communications Construction Company ltd Beograd

Government of Serbia

Serbian Railways Infrastructure

Ministry of Construction

CRIC

CCCC

China Railway International

China Communications Construction Company

Novi Sad Kelebija railroad

price of works on railroad from Novi Sad to Kelebija

Annex 4 to Agreement on modernization and revitalization of Hungarian Serbian rail connection