Three new road reconstructions in Albania

Prime Minister Berisha during his scheduled two day visit last week in the Region of Shkodra inaugurated the completion of a series of public investments in the Commune of Prostribe. Present at this inauguration were also Mrs. Jozefina Topalli, Chairman of the Albanian Parliament, Mr. Lorenc Luka, Mayor of Shkodra Municipality, Mr. Benet Beci, Executive Director of the Albanian Development Fund, Mr. Faz Shabaj, Chairman of Postribe Commune, elected deputies and inhabitants of the area. The reconstruction of the road to Drishti Castle with a length of 3 km and financing cost of 37 million Leke, the reconstruction of the road ‘‘Koder-Boks“ with a length of 1,4 km and financing cost of 16 million Leke and the reconstruction of the pedestrian sidewalk to Mesi Bridge with a financing cost of 12 million Leke which were three of the investments inaugurated by Prime Minister Berisha are implemented by the Albanian Development Fund in the framework of “Community Works Program III“ financed by the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and Albanian Government.

News source: Balkans.com link: article

Development of the Rail Regulator in Serbia

The rail sector in Serbia is currently in the midst of wide-ranging reform programme.  A key objective is to liberalise the rail freight market, allowing private rail freight operators to operate on the Serbian rail network.  In order for the market to function effectively, a regulatory body is to be established to ensure fair access to infrastructure for all market participants, to carry out market monitoring, and to act as an appeal body.
The Railways Directorate ("RD") is the body that will function as an economic regulator in addition to being responsible for safety on the rail network.

The RD now requires a consultant (the "Consultant") to support their capacity enhancement (the "Assignment").  With the development of an effective economic regulatory function, it is anticipated that there will be development of a competitive market in rail operations taking place in Serbia. The Consultant will be required to undertake the following tasks as part of the Assignment:

1. Perform an assessment of the existing regulatory framework for the rail sector in Serbia, focusing on the main areas for regulation – technical, economic and safety, with a view to providing recommendations in line with best practice and European Union directives. This will include providing recommendations on the institutional / organisation arrangements.

2. Identify the required functions for economic regulation of the rail sector in Serbia.

3. Identify the required functions as the safety authority of the rail sector in Serbia.

4. Prepare a capacity enhancement plan for the Railways Directorate, which sets out how the required economic and safety functions.

News source: EBRD link: article

Gazela bridge rehabilitation project in Belgrade

The project concerns (i) the rehabilitation of the Gazela Bridge on the E70/E75 Highway crossing the Serbian capital Belgrade, and forming part of Pan European Corridor 10. It also includes (ii) the rehabilitation and upgrading of access roads with a total length of 24.2 km and (iii) the reconstruction/ upgrading of the R251 ring road between Lestane and Zeleznik located in the south of Belgrade with a total length of 17.3 km.
This EUR 77 million project is mainly financed by the EIB, EBRD, the City of Belgrade and the Borrower (the public company Roads of Serbia). The EIB contributes with a loan of EUR 33 million.

The transport sector is of critical importance to Serbia. The country's geographical position makes it a key transit country for passengers and goods, and good transportation is an important aspect for allowing trade, industry and tourism to prosper.
The Gazela Bridge project is located on the Pan-European Transport Corridor 10 (Salzburg-Ljubljana-Zagreb-Beograd-Nis-Skopje-Veles-Thesaloniki), as well as on the European "E" roads E70 and E75. Additionally, it is included in the South Eastern Axis identified among the five major axes to connect the European Union (EU) with its neighbouring countries in the Report from the High Level Group, chaired by former Member of the Commission Loyola de Palacio in November 2005.
The project will guarantee the use of the bridge under safe conditions and will improve traffic flows on the access roads. Additionally, it will improve transit traffic through Belgrade and public transport within the city.

News source: EIB link: article