City of Belgrade and EBRD signed contract on credit of 69.6m EUR intended for construction of new bridge across Ada Ciganlija

Mayor of Belgrade, Nenad Bogdanović, and deputy of the manager of sector for city infrastructure of European Bank for Rehabilitation and DEvelopment (EBRD), Henry Russel, signed the contract on credit of 69.6m EUR on June 19, 2006, for construction of bridge across the Sava, which will be connecting Čukarica and Novi Beograd.

As Bogdanović explained, the credit is approved on period of 15 years, with "grace period" of 4 years and interest rate of 2.5% on annual basis and European interest rate Euribor, whereas the repayment of credit will commence on July 21, 2010.

- About 161.1m EUR will be needed for realization of the entire project, whereas the remaining part of the means, i.e. 87.9m EUR, will be provided from the city budget, European Agency for Reconstruction will allot donation worth 3m EUR, while the additional 600,000 EUR will be provided through the donation of EBRD - said Bogdanović.

The Mayor explained that the access roads would be built according to Serbia laws through announcement of public tenders, while the construction of the bridge, since it was financed by the European Bank, would be realized in accordance with the European legislation. According to his words, the open competition for main contractor will be announced soon, whereas the commencement of construction of the bridge is expected in 2007.