Transformation Of Transportation In Serbia

I n recent years, Serbia has taken significant steps towards modernizing its transportation infrastructure, focusing primarily on constructing new roads and enhancing the highway network. These initiatives not only improve connectivity between settlements and regions but also open doors for local economic development and attract investments. Miroslav Alempić, Assistant Minister for Road Transport, Roads, and Traffic Safety, shared insights on new projects and plans for the development of electromobility.

Q: What are the main benefits of constructing new roadways and connecting to the highway network? How does this impact the local economy and regional connectivity?

A: The main benefits of building new roads and connecting to the highway and expressway networks include rerouting transit and freight traffic away from populated areas, reducing exhaust emissions, congestion, and noise, shortening travel time for goods and passengers, and significantly increasing safety for road users. A quality road network also attracts transport and transit flows through Serbia, which generates significant revenue. This makes our road network attractive to the economies of other countries for transport and logistics centers across Serbia, enabling freight operations to be centralized, thus bringing substantial revenue and employment growth to our country.

Additionally, constructing a new highway network brings new economic and industrial facilities and centers to Serbia and its local economy, creating new jobs and boosting its development. A well-developed road network provides a broader labor market, allowing employees to live up to 100 kilometers from their workplace without issues reaching their jobs. Fast roads enable people to travel efficiently and quickly to their workplaces.

New roads also enhance the connectivity of villages, towns, cities, and regions, promoting greater mobility for people, goods, and all types of travel.

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Q: Can you tell us about the Green Stations project on Serbia’s highways?

A: The Green Stations project envisages the construction of supporting facilities at existing rest areas and parking lots to serve highway users. The project envisions constructing 16 green stations along the highway. Each location will include a building with a restaurant, store, and restroom, covering a total area of up to 100 m². Next to the building, there will also be a children’s playground.

Each green station will be equipped with fast EV chargers, ranging from five to 16 units of 180 kW each, with two connectors per unit for simultaneous charging. In the first phase of this project, five chargers are planned for installation at each green station. The planned locations include Bikovo, Lovćenac, Čenej, Kovilj, Šepšin, Markovac, Bobovište, Čokot 2, Prevalac, Ljig, Martinci South, Buđanovci and Toplik.

Considering this project’s complexity, which requires designing and constructing the necessary infrastructure, each location needs a 1 MW substation, connections to the power grid and water supply, and fiber optics, which require significantly more time to complete than locations with existing installations.

According to the project schedule, six green stations with 30 fast chargers are planned to be completed and operational by December 1, 2024. The remaining 10 are expected to be completed by the end of April 2025.

Q: Besides the Green Stations project, what additional steps are you planning to take to develop electromobility in Serbia?

A: In parallel with the implementation of this project, PE Roads of Serbia is expanding its network of EV chargers along the highway network. Alongside the eight existing chargers, they have installed 10 new fast chargers this year, which are currently connected to the Elektroprivreda Srbije power grid. Plans are in place for Roads of Serbia to install 16 more chargers on the highways by spring 2025 at the latest. In addition to highway installations, chargers are being placed throughout Serbia in public buildings and spaces, particularly in new developments, following amendments to the Planning and Construction Act.

The start of electric car production in Serbia, combined with incentives for purchasing and using them, will significantly accelerate the expansion of the charging network. The Ministry of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure is drafting a new law on alternative fuel infrastructure, primarily focusing on EV charging infrastructure. This law will define the goals for establishing infrastructure and the optimal number of charging and refueling stations for alternative fuels (EV chargers, hydrogen, and liquid methane). It will also set minimum requirements for constructing this infrastructure, determine standard technical specifications, and outline requirements for user information, payment, and record-keeping, aiming to develop an organized infrastructure to increase electromobility in Serbia.

Q: As the number of registered electric vehicles grows yearly, is the Ministry considering any support or subsidies for electric vehicle drivers?

A: According to official data, by the end of August 2024, 3,629 fully electric and 28,523 hybrid vehicles were registered in Serbia. The total number of registered vehicles is about three million, of which 2,452,064 are passenger cars.

The government is already subsidizing the purchase of electric cars, which is an excellent incentive to increase the presence of these vehicles on the road. This subsidy program is managed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The following steps by the Ministry of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure involve creating additional benefits for EV drivers, such as lower tolls, free or discounted parking, and exemptions for driving in city areas where vehicles with internal combustion engines are banned. They are also working on amending the Law on Road Traffic Safety to introduce new green license plates with a special designation for electric vehicles.

Interview by Milica Radičević