Alstom wins Belgrade metro contract

French rail giant Alstom won two major contracts this month. The first one was for the first phase of the construction of metro line one in Belgrade, Serbia. Franck Riester, Minister for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, signed an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) on Thursday with the Serbian Minister for Finance, in the presence of the President, Aleksandar Vucic. The agreement is based on an initial French financing package of €534 million for the construction of 16.5 km of tracks and 18 stations as part of the first phase of a project that is expected to cost €1.8 billion.

The French flagship company was also chosen over three other candidates, German company Siemens, Italo-Japanese group Ansaldo-Hitachi and the Spanish firm CAF, for a €700 million contract associated with the French multinational Thales for the construction of a third metro line in Toulouse.