Memorandum Signed with Power China on Construction of Tunnel to Connect Sava and Danube Slopes

Representatives of the Government of Serbia, the City of Belgrade and the Chinese company Power China have signed the memorandum of understanding for the project of the construction of a tunnel from Karadjordjeva Street to the Danube Slope, which, as estimated, will cost around EUR 150 million. The mayor of Belgrade, Aleksandar Sapic said, as Beoinfo reports, that he hoped that the works would start the next year.

– Let’s hope that, in spring or summer, the tunnel project will catch up with the bridge project and that, within the coming calendar year, we will be able to commence the works. That’s when one of the biggest traffic projects in Belgrade will begin, which will essentially change the traffic center of the city. This will all be done at the time the first subway line is put into operation. With the ring road around Belgrade, we are aware of the fact that, after the completion of this project, in terms of traffic, Belgrade will no longer be the same – Sapic said.

He also pointed out that he was happy that the projects of the construction of the tunnel and the new Sava bridge had been unified.

– That is why we have decided not to start the construction of the bridge, because we believe that the bridge cannot have its full purpose until the tunnel is finished. With the completion of the big traffic route in New Belgrade, the construction of the bridge and the tunnel, we will connect the two remotest parts of the city by traffic routes, which is why we’ve named this project “the small subway”. In that way, practically, it will take only a few minutes, without any stopping, to travel from the New Belgrade center to Slanacki Put Street. This will be one of the projects which will change the traffic in the city the most – Sapic said.

The ambassador of China to Serbia, Chen Bo, emphasized that the project was very important for unloading the traffic in the Belgrade center.

– Serbia was recently selected to host EXPO 2027, which additionally opens the possibilities for the development of Serbia and Belgrade. The capital of Serbia will certainly additionally develop the infrastructure for this occasion, which will create new possibilities for our further cooperation. Chinese companies have plenty of experience when it comes to building infrastructure. Let me remind you that China has hosted summer and winter Olympics, as well as Expos. Those companies know very well how to work in big cities and they are ready to share their experiences – said Chen Bo.

The minister of finance of Serbia, Sinisa Mali, said that the project was a big and important thing for the City of Belgrade and for all the citizens of Serbia.

– This is another important, capital project which we are launching and which we will complete in the next couple of years. Imagine a tunnel which goes from Despota Stefana Blvd all the way to the new Sava Bridge. We will thereby largely reduce the traffic jams in Takovska and Kneza Milosa streets as well. Traffic jams will reduce, as will the pollution in our city. The new Sava bridge and the new tunnel are two projects which show how right our economic policy is and how much we are trying not to stop any important, big capital project – Mali said.

This initiates the realization of the project which has been planned for nearly seven decades, and which will connect the Danube and the Sava slopes.

Let us remind that, in late June, mayor Sapic said that he expected the agreement to be signed by the end of the year for the tunnel, as well as for the New Belgrade – New Sava Bridge traffic route, with the Government of Serbia.

As the head urban planner of Belgrade, Marko Stojcic, stated earlier for eKapija, the value of the construction of the tunnel would be EUR 90 to 100 million. According to him, the plan entails two tunnel tubes of a total of around 2 km, with portals in Gavrila Principa Street, in the zone of the Faculty of Economics, and Despota Stefana Blvd, in the direction of the Pancevo Bridge, in the zone of the Police Administration.

Vlada Republike Srbije

Grad Beograd

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Ambasada NR Kine Beograd

JP Direkcija za građevinsko zemljište i izgradnju Beograda

Power Construction Corporation of China Limited Ogranak Beograd

Milan Vranić

Aleksandar Šapić

Siniša Mali

Chen Bo

Marko Stojčić

tunnel from Sava to Danube slope

tunnel from Karadjordjeva Street to Danube slope

memorandum of understanding

construction of tunnel from Sava to Danube slope

Expo 2027

Despota Stefana Blvd Belgrade

new Sava bridge

Takovska Street Belgrade

Kneza Milosa Street Belgrade

Gavrila Principa Street Belgrade

Pancevo Bridge