STEERING COMMITTEE OF WEST BALKAN INVESTMENT FRAMEWORK

During the meeting, the Steering Committee reviewed and approved projects submitted under  XII round of application, and discussed further WBIF evolution.

In this round Kosovo applied with one project, whereby is adopted by WBIF SC:

1. Oversight of Railway Rout 10, Fushe Kosova – border with Macedonia, rehabilitation (phase 1).

The railway route 10 is the only  international line of Kosovo, which also connects railway corridor X and VIII. This railway rout is part of the SEETO comprehensive network and is priority rout within the Country Multimodal Transport Strategy. So far, WBIF provided EUR 2.94 million for the railway route 10.

Over the years, the line would be rehabilitated in 3 phases:
(i)         Phase 1: Railway route Fushe Kosova – border with Macedonia;
(ii)        Phase 2: Railway route Fushe Kosova – Mitrovica; and
(iii)       Phase 3: Railway route Mitrovica- border with Serbia.

The project will be supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The initial grant in the amount of € 1,400,000 will be provided by the European Western Balkans Joint Fund (EWBJF).

Total project cost for all 3 railway routes is estimated to around €94.04 million.

General information on the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF)

Western Balkans Investment Framework aims to improve cooperation and increase the financial capacities for investments contributing to the development and socio-economic advancement of the integration process of the Western Balkans. Institutions that contribute with financial resources within the framework are: the European Commission, the Development Bank of the Council of Europe, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, the German Development Bank, World Bank and bilateral donors.

The Framework focuses on key Western Balkans economy sectors, such as: energy, environment, transportation, social issues and the development of private sector..

To date WBIF has supported 144 projects with grants €300 million and € 2.7 billion loans. For more information about WBIF, visit the WBIF official website at: www.wbif.eu