Koridori Srbije Ltd (Morava Motorway)

Updated on December 21, 2023

Project description

On December 15, 2023, The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a member of the World Bank Group, signed a contract of guarantee for EUR901 million (US$973  million), providing Non Honoring of Sovereign Financial Obligation (NHSFO) coverage to (i) JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. London Branch of the United States,  (ii) Banco Santander S.A. of Spain, (iii) Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank of France and (iv) ING Bank, a branch of ING-DiBa AG of Germany for their non-shareholder loans to the Government of Serbia (“GoS”) represented by the Ministry of Finance (“MoF”), for the construction of a 112 kilometer (“km”) highway and flood prevention systems along the West Morava River (“the Project”), for a period of up to 15 years.

MIGA’s participation provides an additional support to MoF for the Project, on top of the initial EUR 400 million facility provided in March 2022, and a subsequent EUR 100 million increase in September 2023, both backed by MIGA NHSFO guarantee. This brings MIGA’s total gross NHSFO guarantee to the Project to approximately EUR 1.4 billion.

The Project consists of a greenfield 112-kilometer (“km”) dual-carriageway tolled motorway, within a 900 meter right of way, located approximately 200 km south of Belgrade, in a low-level flood plain running east/west along the West Morava River Valley. The Project also includes (i) above ground structures such as interchanges, bridges, culverts, and over/under passes; (ii) a telecommunication network (digital corridor) supported by power lines and communication cables to connect the telecom stations within the motorway (at rest areas, parking lots, and near traffic loops) and to manage traffic through various traffic control, surveillance, and tolling systems; and (iii) river regulation works intended to protect the Project and its surrounding areas from flooding.

The motorway spans from Pojate on the A1 (the North-South motorway in central Serbia) through Kruševac and up into Preljina, near Čačak. Due to the heterogenous characteristics and requirements along the route, the Morava Highway will be divided in three sections: Pojate-Kruseva (circa 28km), Krusevac-Adrani (c. 53km) and Adrani-Preljina (c. 31km).

Ownership of the Project sits with the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure and Corridors of Serbia, a division of said Ministry that oversees the development and construction phases of the Project.

Environmental Categorization

The Project is a Category A under MIGA’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability (2013). Click here for the Project’s Environmental and Social Review Summary.

Development Impact

The Project will improve road quality by reducing travel time and ensuring higher safety standards, while contributing to improved connectivity in the Morava basin. The Project will also strengthen its climate resilience and that of its neighboring areas by including climate allowances in its design (e.g., road drainage and river regulation works). In addition to leading to adoption by the Project of the Performance Standards (PS), MIGA helps the GoS secure cost-effective financing.