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Weekly Lists
July 6, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 29
bne:
Infrastructure
Serbia to start €5bn infrastructure investment cycle in 2019
Uzbekistan launches trade transit hub at Afghan border
The Serbian government plans to start a new €5bn investment cycle for infrastructure projects in 2019, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mi- hajlovic has announced, reads the government’s July 2 statement.
Serbia has significantly improved its infrastructure in last few years but still a lot of work needs to be done, especially in rural areas.
According to Mihajlovic, the new investment cycle is crucially im- portant for the development of Serbia’s economy.
Talking to national broadcaster TV Happy, she added that by end- 2018 works on Corridor X and XII are planned to be finished, while construction of new roads will start in 2019.
Uzbekistan has established a trade transit hub at its border with Af- ghanistan, TOLOnews has reported, citing comments from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s advisor on Central Asian affairs Shakir Kargar made on June 30.
According to Kargar, the project includes a trade centre for commercial goods, a railway line and train station, and roads
for transporting goods. Last month, Afghan and Uzbek officials discussed the possibility of establishing a free trade zone in border areas between their neighbouring countries. The new transit hub is likely the beginning of one of the envisaged zones.
Uzbekistan has been making efforts to develop and tighten coop- eration with Afghanistan since Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to power in late 2016. Reports from April indicated that Uz- bekistan reduce the price of electricity exported to Afghanistan to $0.005 per kWh, down from $0.085 per kWh.
Preparatory works are set to begin this week for the construction of Balticconnector, a gas pipeline to link the Estonian and Finnish gas grids, the Estonian electricity and gas grid operator Elering said on July 3.
The pipeline will link the Estonian and Finnish natural gas networks via a 150-km pipeline, 77 km of which will run under the Baltic Sea. The link is expected to end the longstanding isolation of Finland's gas networks, as well as help boost security of supply across the region. An economic lift is also expected. The construction of the link is due for completion by 2020.
Work begins on Estonian-Finnish gas link