Belgrade offers investors 60 projects for EUR 10 billion

Belgrade Mayor Sinisa Mali said Tuesday that the City of Belgrade had prepared more than 60 projects valued at over EUR 10 billion to present to prospective investors.
He said at the "Belgrade Investment Days" Forum that they were infrastructure projects, direct investments and SME development projects, which were "three pillars of development" of the economy of capital city.
Among these projects are waste management, construction of 16 underground garages, new bus stations, privatization of Poljoprivredna korporacija Beograd (PKB), Belgrade Waterfront, and free and industrial zones.
Two tenders have already been issued, one of which relates to waste management and landfill regeneration in Vinca, which is an investment of about EUR 250 million, whereas the other is related to the development of public transportation and investment of about EUR 500 million within the next ten years.
– If we manage to be quick and efficient enough, four more calls for tenders will be issued in the autumn for public-private partnerships for the construction of kindergartens, replacement of old elevators, underground garage and public lighting system - the mayor announced and specified that 17 locations were available for kindergartens, that it was necessary to replace about six thousand dilapidated elevators, and that partners would be sought for the construction of five underground garages for a start.
The mayor also stressed that the plan for the next year was to build four large water treatment plants, which is an investment estimated at EUR 150 million or even more, as well as a new bus station in New Belgrade.
Expansion of the tram bridge, continued construction of the bypass and southern tangent with a bridge near Visnjica are, of course, part of investment in traffic infrastructure, which represents a great development chance, but metro is still the final goal, Sinisa Mali pointed out.
– A smart plan is under preparation and it will be finished by spring 2016, when we will finally know the exact route of the first metro line and hot it fits into public and other transportation systems. I hope we could begin implementing this project and looking for a partner by the end of 2017. This investment is valued at about EUR 2 billion - said Mali.
The mayor also underlined that the aim of the city was to solve the problem of missing sewerage and plumbing within the next ten to fifteen years, which would cost approximately EUR 2 million.
When it comes to privatization, for now it is for sure that certain part of PKB will be privatized, and the city plans to put at least another two or three firms it owns up for sale in 2016. The mayor reiterated that Belgrade had 100,000 registered small and medium-sized enterprises, adding that it was enough to encourage them to hire at least one man each, after which the total number of employees would grow by 100,000.
- By strengthening the economy of Belgrade, we also make the entire country stronger. The aim of all projects is to invest in Belgrade and Serbia. We will keep doing all we can to be good hosts and issue all necessary permits on time in order for investors to start their business here as soon as possible - said Mali.
He also stressed that if 2014 was the year of business consolidation, 2015 and 2016 should be the years of investments and new projects.
The mayor assessed that a large number of participants in Belgrade Investment Days, coming from more than 20 countries, were a proof that Belgrade and Serbia had become a good place for investment.

Grad Beograd

PKB Korporacija a.d. Beograd

Beograd na vodi d.o.o. Beograd

IFC

Sinisa Mali

Belgrade Investment Days

infrastructure projectsin Belgrade

direct investment in Belgrade

waste management in Belgrade

underground garages in Belgrade

SME in Belgrade

new bus station in Belgrade

PKB Beograd

International Finance Corporation

IFC

replacement and maintenance of 6000 elevators in Belgrade

bus station in Block 42