Modern Infrastructure
As a logistics base, Serbia is a perfect location for a company to efficiently serve its EU, SEE or Middle Eastern customers. It borders the EU, at the Hungarian, Bulgarian, and Romanian state lines, while offering the benefits of operating outside the EU. Moreover, businesses can enjoy all the benefits of working outside the EU, while being able to provide services and transport goods in projected and flexible time frames.
Furthermore, owing to its position on the geographic borderline between the East and West, Serbia is often referred to as a gateway of Europe. In addition, two very important European corridors, No. 7 - the River Danube and No. 10 - the international highway and railroad, intersect on the Serbian territory providing excellent transportation connections with Western Europe and the Middle East.
By using well-developed road connections, a shipment from Serbia can reach even the remotest parts of Europe in less than 72 hours. Goods can also move rapidly cross-country - the road network of Serbia is 40,845 km long, consisting of the following:
- 5,525 km of state roads of the 1st category,
- 11,540 km of state roads of the 2nd category, and
- 23,780 km of local roads.
The road network also features 498 km of toll motorways and 136 km of toll semi-motorways.
In order to further upgrade the country's road network, the Serbian government has adopted the National Plan for Road and Railroad Infrastructure Development. By the end of 2012, a total of €2.9 billion will be invested in the construction of the six major highways.
The railway network in Serbia has the length of 3,809 km. Out of that figure, main lines account for 50%, 35% of the network is electrified (in particular main lines), while 7% of the lines are double-tracked.
The main lines are designed for freight trains of 1,000-1,200t and 120 axles, i.e. train lengths of 600 m plus locomotive. Passenger trains of 600t are also allowed.
In general, the main lines have been designed for a maximum speed of 120 km/h except for the Belgrade - Bar (80-100 km/h), Nis - Presevo, and Nis - Dimitrovgrad lines. The present permissible train speeds are below the designed speeds on most lines and line sections. The average permissible speed on the Corridor X lines is limited to 82 km/h.
The major part of the main lines are of the class D4, i.e. permitting an axle load of 22.5t and 8.0 tons/m, which applies generally in Western Europe.
As is the case with road network development, the government plans modernization and reconstruction of the railway lines on the Corridor X. This project aims to increase the average speed, along with electrification and construction of the double-gauge railway tracks on certain sections. The total amount of investment funds is estimated at around €1.7 billion. The detailed project volume and timeline are yet to be determined.
Serbia offers an outstanding potential for river transportation. A highly cost-effective way of transport can be pursued on three rivers, giving a total of 959 km of safe navigable routes. The international River Danube, 588 km long, represents the most reliable navigable route, which can be used for transportation throughout the year. In addition, artificial canals Rhine-Main-Danube - an international canal allowing barge traffic between the North Sea and the Black Sea and Danube-Tisa-Danube create a network of routes providing access to all Danube basin countries.
The Sava River links the following countries in the region: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia, and is in the process of gaining the status of the International Navigable Route.
The Danube River features a total of 12 ports: Apatin, Backa Palanka, Belgrade, Bogojevo, Kovin, Novi Sad, Pancevo, Prahovo, Sabac, Senta, Smederevo and Sremska Mitrovica.
Serbia can be reached by air using one of two available international airports in Serbia: Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade and Nis International Airport. Also, there is a Civil Airport Bor and 16 sports airports. Transportation by air to and from Belgrade is possible to almost every destination in the world, either directly or by layover.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Serbia has a good voice telephony access and a strong Internet penetration rate.
Telekom Srbija (49% owned by the Serbian Government) is the major provider of fixed telephony services in Serbia. Telenor (owned by the Norway's telecommunications group) obtained the second fixed telephony license in January 2010, while local company Orion Telekom recently became the third fixed telephony operator. The level of digitalization of the fixed telephony network is 97%.The cost of basic telephone services is very competitive relative to that of most countries in the region.
Apart from fixed telephony providers, there are more than 40 VoIP operators in Serbia, providing low-cost solutions for making international calls.
Mobile phone networks are widespread, covering 90% of the country geographically. There are three mobile telephony service providers: Telekom Srbija, Telenor and VIP Mobilkom (the subsidiery of Austrian Mobilkom). The three operators support 2nd and 3rd generation mobile networks, while mobile telephony penetration in Serbia exceeds 130% (9,912,340 users). Mobile phone operators in Serbia boast the lowest prices for domestic calls as compared to other European countries.
More than 20 Internet providers in Serbia have a license for international interconnections, while the total number of ISPs in Serbia exceeds 200. There are various types of access possibilities through the usage of new technologies such as CDMA, HSPDA, and IPTV. The usage of frequency bands on 2.4GHz and 5.8 GHz in Serbia is free-of-charge. With more than 1.7 million internet users, the country has a penetration rate of around 22%.
