Construction work is now underway on the long-delayed high-speed rail link between the Serbian capital Belgrade and the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
Workers at the construction site of the Belgrade-Budapest railway in Stara Pazova, Serbia, May 30, 2020. Credit: Dimitrije Goll / Serbian President's Office / Xinhua
Workers at the construction site of the Belgrade-Budapest railway in Stara Pazova, Serbia, May 30, 2020. Credit: Dimitrije Goll / Serbian President's Office / Xinhua
Originally set for completion by 2018, the new estimate for the line to be fully commissioned is three years, with the first section – between Belgrade and Novi Sad – set to open by March next year.
Russian and Chinese companies will undertake the construction work and Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, who attended the launch ceremony, thanked the Chinese for their assistance.
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He said: “We, the Hungarians and the Serbs make decisions, having in mind our national interests and we have decided that we wish to benefit from the new world order which is emerging in the East. Both countries cooperate with China on pragmatic foundations and in mutual interest and both can benefit a lot from that.”
“In exactly three years,” he said, “which is before the end of 2024, we will have a high-speed rail line to Hungary, while the Hungarians will complete their section from Serbia to Budapest in the first half of 2025.”
He added that the project would result in higher living standards and higher wages.
The Budapest to Belgrade railway is the first major infrastructure project in Europe for China's Belt and Road Initiative and the second most expensive infrastructure project in Hungarian history.
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