A hundred years in the making – a metro may be built in Belgrade

It is no coincidence that Bloomberg began its article on the project by recalling a TV series from the early 1990s: a paraphrase of Samuel Beckett's play about futile waiting, Waiting for Godot. a paraphrase of Samuel Beckett's play about futile waiting, Waiting for Godot.

City leaders and the Serbian government signed binding contracts worth one billion euros with Chinese and French construction companies and banks.

and further finalisation is underway to ensure that Belgrade's first metro line can open in 2030. The €4.4 billion (approximately £3.7 billion) project will be followed a few years later by a second line – at a similar cost – and a third line is also being discussed.

„This time it's real”

said Andreja Mladenovic, head of JKP Belgrade Metro and Train, the state-owned company overseeing the project, in response to a question from Bloomberg. Previous attempts did not even come close to the current level of development. He added: „This is now unstoppable.”

Serbia has experienced spectacular economic growth in recent decades, reinforced in the capital by the influx of foreigners – especially Russians, tens of thousands of whom have moved here since the start of the war in Ukraine. Belgrade's population is growing steadily and traffic congestion has become a permanent feature.

They've been planning it for a hundred years

The first attempt to develop the Belgrade underground took place in the 1930s. At that time, they wanted to give Belgrade weight as the capital of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which was established in 1918. The Second World War swept away the plans, which were only revived in the 1960s – even then because of traffic congestion. New plans were drawn up in the 1970s, but they did not get any further: the debt crisis that took hold in the early 1980s once again dashed hopes for the metro, and in the following decade, Yugoslavia broke up, and the wounds of the South Slavic wars are only now beginning to heal in the region.

There is still much debate

Environmental groups protested against the construction of maintenance facilities for the trains near a lake that supplies Belgrade with drinking water. Critics also accuse the authorities of diverting funds from smaller towns to the capital, as they treat the multi-billion-pound project as an absolute priority.

Public debates are still ongoing about the planned routes, with residents often demanding additional stops or line extensions to include more urban districts in the metro network.

„There is a lot of fear among people, they simply do not want to take responsibility for anything,” Mladenovic told Bloomberg. The cost of insurance policies for various stages of the metro project had already risen in January when protests spread across the country.

As preparations progressed, authorities realised that fire safety and security regulations were lacking in such tunnels, Mladenovic said. Other obstacles may arise if the excavation uncovers significant archaeological remains beneath the more than two-millennia-old city.

We already have an operator

The project's lenders (Deutsche Bank and a consortium of Hong Kong and French banks) requested that the developer conduct further environmental and social impact assessments. The Serbian state-owned company therefore appointed the Danish company Ramboll as a consultant. They will be responsible for monitoring compliance with standards at all stages. The German company Deutsche Bahn and the French company Systra SA will be involved in project management and technical supervision.

Paris public transport operator RATP Dev was involved as a consultant from the early stages of planning, and the company is expected to sign a long-term contract to operate and maintain the Belgrade metro once it opens.

French-Chinese pair may carry it out

The main contractors for the metro will be China's Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) and France's Alstom SA. Both companies were selected through direct negotiations, without a public tender.

The PowerChina will be responsible for tunnels, while the Alstom will be responsible for trains, tracks, electrical equipment and communication devices. The Chinese company has extensive experience in such projects in Asia, but not yet in Europe, and is „very keen to showcase its expertise and capabilities to Western markets,” said Andreja Mladenovic.

No turning back

Drilling of the metro tunnels will begin next spring, when China Railway Construction Heavy Industry, or CRCHI, will deliver the equipment ordered by PowerChina in May, Mladenovic said. These machines, which are nearly 100 metres long and cost around €20 million, will drill the tunnels and then insert huge concrete rings to form a stable structure.

„There's no turning back,” said Mladenovic. „We've never gotten this far before.”