Koridori Srbije meet WB deadline, avoid loan cancellation

BELGRADE - Public company Koridori Srbije (Corridors of Serbia) managed to draw minimum 40 percent of the EUR 275.2 million loan provided by the World Bank (WB) for the construction of the road Corridor 10 before the deadline expired, and avoid the risk of loan cancellation, or even sanctions, Koridori Srbije director Dmitar Djurovic told Tanjug on Monday.

"We had a very difficult task ahead of us, to meet the plan of drawing 40 percent of the loan to this day, or the entire loan agreement would have been put at risk," stressed Djurovic, specifying that EUR 111.09 million, or 40.37 percent of the loan, were drawn for the construction works carried out so far.

The sections funded from the WB loan include the Dimitrovgrad bypass in the eastern leg of Corridor 10, Grabovnica - Grdelica and Caricina Dolina - Vladicin Han in the south, where a tender procedure is underway, as well as the Vladicin Han - Donji Neradovac section.

"We had a visit from a World Bank delegation last week, and they were very pleased that we were able to fulfill this task,” Djurovic noted.

The works will progress at a quick pace in all sites during the current construction season, he said, adding that 50-60 percent of the total WB loan will most likely be drawn by the end of the year.

This will allow Serbia to make potential additional requests, he pointed out.

Djurovic recalled that since 2009 when Koridori Srbije was formed, loans were drawn slowly due to unresolved land expropriation issues and poor quality projects.

Since February 2009, when the company was established, to October 2012, 13.35 percent of the works funded from the WB loan were carried out, said Djurovic, adding that further 27.02 percent of works...