World Bank, AFD finance Serbian railway upgrade project
The World Bank and the Agence Française de Développement are financing the upgrade of 3,735km of railway in Serbia to increase its safety, efficiency, and environmental sustainability.
Phase 1 of the Multi-Phase Programmatic Approach for Serbia Railway Sector Modernization Project was approved by the World Bank, providing $62.5 million of the program’s overall financing envelope of $400 million. The World Bank is cooperating with France's AFD with a 50% joint co-financing of Phase 1 to bring the total investment for this phase to $125 million.
Overall, the program focuses on three key outcomes: an increase in network utilization of 5%; a reduction of fatalities on the rail network by 23%; and a 10% increase in the market share of national cargo rail over the next ten years.
