WASHINGTON, April 26, 2013 — The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a total of US$100 million to help Serbia improve road infrastructure and road safety. Better national roads will enhance Serbia’s competitiveness and provide people with easier and safer access to jobs, markets, and social services.
The new Road Rehabilitation and Safety Project will contribute to the financing of periodic maintenance and rehabilitation works, partial pavement widening, works concerning traffic signalization improvement and structure renewal, as well ancillary road connections for 35 – 40 sections, totaling 800 – 810 km in length. In addition, it will provide signage, traffic calming measures, and road furniture for an additional 1,000 km of national roads, further raising the safety of Serbian roads. The project is also designed in a way to incentivize the implementation of maintenance management reforms.
The project financed by the World Bank is part of a larger effort by the international financial institutions, including the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to help Serbia implement a National Road Network Rehabilitation Program (NRNRP) to improve the quality and safety on priority national roads, thus improving connectivity of the entire road network. The first phase of NRNRP supported by the three IFIs will cover about 1,100 km.
