Another 15 irrigation systems to be built in 2018 – EBRD to lend Serbia EUR 150 million over three years

A total of 14 irrigation systems are being built in Serbia at the moment using the proceeds from the United Arab Emirates fund, another 15 are being prepared for the current year, and the money from the loan should be spent until the end of 2019.

Minister of Agriculture Branislav Nedimovic said on Friday, January 26, 2018, that they were working on having the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) lend Serbia around EUR 150 million for the continuation of the reconstruction and construction of irrigation systems, after the money approved by the UAE fund for the purpose is spent.

– This would amount to EUR 50 million more than is currently available to Serbia from the UAE fund – he said and specified that the Ministry of Agriculture had been talking about a continuation of financing of the reconstruction and construction of irrigation systems with the EBRD for 6-7 months.

He emphasized that a continuity in the construction of irrigation systems in Serbia was important.

– The idea is to have around 150,000 hectares under irrigation systems by 2020 – he said and added that there were efforts to install more irrigation systems on at least as many hectares of arable land.

He said that, according to various sources, around 2-3% of arable areas were under irrigation systems at the moment and added that new systems would enable the area to increase to 12-13%.

The head of the SEE agri-business sector in the EBRD, Miljan Zdrale, said that the bank's experts would arrive to Serbia in February to consider the construction of irrigation systems together with representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Srbijavode and Vode Vojvodine.

Zdrale believes that, over three years, if the agreement is reached, Serbia might count on around EUR 50 million a year from the EBRD for the said purpose.

Ministarstvo poljoprivrede, šumarstva i vodoprivrede Republike Srbije

JVP Srbijavode Novi Beograd

Vode Vojvodine Novi Sad

Vlada Republike Srbije

EBRD Evropska banka za obnovu i razvoj

irrigation system

irrigation systems

Branislav Nedimovic

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

EBRD

construction of irrigation systems

United Arab Emirates fund

reconstruction of irrigation systems

Miljan Zdrale