Belgrade (Serbia), April 7 (Seenews) – Serbia Ministry of Telecommunications has awarded two local consortia for the construction of fiber optical lines with medium mile to rural regions as part of a broadband project supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The ministry awarded a 57.9 million euro contract to a consortium from DOT-NETWORKS in Belgrade to carry out Lot 1 of the project in East and Southeast Serbia, the EBRD announced in a contract price published on Friday.
In a separate contract price published on Friday, the EBRD announced that the Serbian ministry also signed a 45.5 million euro contract with a consortium under the direction of local KBV datacom for the construction of fiber optic lines with medium mile in rural areas in western and southwestern Serbia, ie Lot 2.
Both contracts were signed at the end of March with planned final data for March 13, 2028.
In November 2021, the EBRD approved a 100 million euro loan to Serbia to connect up to 1,600 rural schools and public institutions to the fiber optic network. Since broadband rollout is unprofitable for local operators in remote areas, the project offers an infrastructure of the middle of the mile on a free basis for reducing their investments.
The project is part of a larger initiative and follows an earlier project that was signed in December 2020 and targeted 600 schools and public institutions in Serbia. The value of the first project was 19.7 million euros, of which 18 million euros were granted with an EBRD loan.
($ = 0.904 euros)