"What is a problem for us in the days ahead is the fact that some succeeded, not with their politics, but with fear, to stop Serbia," said Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in one of his many speeches. after the canopy fell na Railway station in Novi Sad, when 15 people were killed.
"It's about the fact that today you can't get the signature of any state body for anything, nobody wants to sign anything." You cannot get reconstruction of underpasses and overpasses in Serbia."
The citizens of Serbia are due to the loss of fifteen lives soon took to the streets, looking for answers to the questions of why the canopy fell, who is to blame, who did not do their job properly. Who will be responsible?
The president, although he promised that those responsible will be found, did not fail to warn the curious - too many questions can intimidate those who should sign the documents, which can slow down construction, the halo of Vučić's rule.
This is not good at all, said the president, worried about how such fear could ultimately affect Exspo. Vučić has long called the giga-project scheduled for his farewell year in 2027 the crown of his mandate.
However, judging by the documents issued by the Government of Serbia, Vučić has nothing to worry about, because the construction will not stop even in 2025, and the Expo will get the biggest piece of cake.
Photo: PromoExspo
Winners: Expo and National Stadium
According to the revised Fiscal Strategy for 2025 with projections until 2027, 56 billion dinars were allocated for a total of 313,6 projects this year.
By the way, in 2024, for the first time, the Government acted on the request of the International Monetary Fund and publicly published an overview of capital projects financed from the republic's budget for the new year.
It is no surprise that the largest part of the money, 46 billion dinars, is intended for the Expo. This project is the first according to the amount of costs and in the projections for 2026, when an allocation of around 47,5 billion dinars is foreseen. The total cost of the entire project is estimated at 139,6 billion dinars.
Along with the Expo, a large part of the money will also go to National Stadium. This year alone – 18,6, and a total of 67,5 billion dinars.
However, the actual costs of both projects are significantly higher than shown. Namely, in the list of projects there is an item "line infrastructure", for which 12,5 billion dinars will be allocated this year (40,5 in total).
Although it is not stated anywhere exactly what kind of infrastructure it is, the assessment of the Fiscal Council is that it is the supporting infrastructure for the National Stadium and the Expo, which further increases the costs of these projects.
It is interesting to note that 18 billion dinars will be set aside for the railway from Zemun polje to the National Stadium this year, a figure almost equal to the one that was earmarked for the construction of the stadium itself in the same period.
Photo: PromoFuture National Stadium
Roads, railways, bypasses
The announced projects for 2025 also show that, if everything goes according to plan, the year will be typically progressive. Thus, kilometers of railways, roads and bypasses.
As for road traffic, the most money this year will go to the section of the Moravian Corridor from Kragujevac to Čačak, for which 30 billion dinars have been allocated. According to the estimate of the Ministry of Finance, the entire section, which was supposed to be completed in 2022, will cost a total of 252 billion dinars.
The list also includes the section of the Miloš Veliki highway from Preljina to Požega, for which 11,2 billion dinars will be allocated, and which should also have been completed already. Judging by the Fiscal Strategy that goes back to 2027, the works will certainly not be finished even in the next two years.
Out of a total of 56 projects foreseen in the Fiscal Strategy, as many as 25 relate to road and railway infrastructure, and about 200 billion dinars, that is, about 63 percent of the budget, will be spent on them.
If this figure is added to the figure planned for the Expo and the National Stadium, the following calculation is obtained - for all other projects, which are considered less important, about 15 percent of the budget funds, or about 47 billion dinars, have been allocated.
What is less important this year? The biggest loser is, of course, the Belgrade Metro.
Photo: Tanjug/Vladimir ŠporčićThe President of Serbia at one of the highway openings
Neglected metro
When the budget proposal for 2025 was first published, for metro more than 31 billion dinars is planned, and for this and the next year a total of over 141 billion dinars. In the revised Fiscal Strategy, however, the metro budget was cut by as many as 11 times.
In 2025 and 2026, a total of 13 billion dinars will be allocated for the metro - 6,5 billion per year. As assessed by the Fiscal Council, it was not explained why the budget of some projects was reduced compared to the original plans.
This is precisely why promises that the first metro line will start operating in 2028, even though the budget for the same has been suddenly reduced 11 times, act either as naive daydreams or as misleading citizens.
It should also be noted that, when it comes to the mentioned differences between the budget proposal and the revised Fiscal Strategy, the money planned for the Expo has more than doubled between the two documents and has risen from the original 22,6 to the mentioned 47,5 billion dinars.
Photo: Tanjug/BeoinfoWill be one day: Metro stations
And a little more
A less important project, judging by the allocated money, is the construction of communal sewage infrastructure and infrastructure for the disposal of communal solid waste, for which 10 billion dinars are allocated.
Although it is a lot of money, the projection of the Ministry of Finance is that the entire project will cost almost 370 billion dinars, and so far not even a tenth of the estimated value has been realized.
The following data also speaks about the priorities - for the construction of educational and scientific centers, the state will allocate a "paltry" 561 million dinars this year. The creation of a "unique information and communication network of e-Government" will cost a little more - 700 million dinars. In total, the price of these two projects is very similar - 4,7 and 4,4 billion dinars.
Some other projects planned for this year are the continuation of the reconstruction of the University Clinical Center of Serbia - which should be completed in 2026, the beginning of the construction of the new building of the Natural History Museum, the continuation of the construction of the Data Center in Kragujevac, the Innovation District of Kragujevac and the Creative Innovative Multifunctional Center "Ložionica" in Belgrade on the water.
