INTERVIEW TOMISLAV MOMIROVIĆ, SERBIAN MINISTER OF CONSTRUCTION, TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Transport Connectivity Opens
THE DOOR TO DEVELOPMENT
Despite the numerous challenges being faced by Serbia and the rest of the world as a consequence of the energy crisis and the conflict in Ukraine, our country is continuing to implement extensive infrastructural works that form the basis of further economic progress in regional and European frameworks 4
Greece 2022
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he state of transport infrastructure represents one of the key factors in attracting foreign investments, but also increasing the competitiveness of the domestic economy. It is for these reasons that the work of the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure is always at the heart of public interest. It was just prior to the publishing of this special edition that regular high-speed train traffic commenced on the new Belgrade-Novi Sad express rail route. However, this isn’t the only rail route to have been renovated. And that’s precisely why we began this interview with Minister Tomislav Momirović by addressing the issue of connecting Serbian and European railways, the importance of these transport routes to further economic development and the environmental aspects of increasingly intensive use of railways.
“It’s completely certain that the entire European Union has recognised railways as the future of freight transport. Emissions of CO2 are 3.5 times lower per ton-kilometre than freight transports by road. Also testifying clearly to this is the fact that the EU decided to provide grants of 600 million euros to finance the modernisation of the Belgrade– Niš–Tabanovce railway, which will complete the rail section of Corridor 10 through our country,” says Minister Momirović. As our interlocutor explains, “our greatest competition currently is coming from Corridor 4, through Bulgaria. With the modernisation of the Corridor 10 route through our country, we will be part of the shortest east-west route. Naturally, this all means much higher revenues for companies that provide railway transport services. Furthermore, any company considering an investment decision will very
