?Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic speaks at the opening ceremony of a highway section in Belgrade, Serbia, on Dec. 18, 2019. A new section of Serbia's international E-763 highway has been completed three months ahead of deadline by China Communication Construction Company (CCCC), and opened for traffic at a ceremony in the outskirts of Belgrade on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Shi Zhongyu)
BELGRADE, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- A new section of Serbia's international E-763 highway has been completed three months ahead of deadline by a Chinese company, and opened for traffic at a ceremony in the outskirts of Belgrade on Wednesday.
The ceremony was attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, and Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo.
Vucic said the new E-763 highway is vital for future development of Serbia and for attracting investors, adding that with this new section, people will save significant amount of time while traveling between cities of Belgrade and Cacak, 120 km south of the capital.
"Yesterday, Belgrade and Cacak were 2.5 hours away, and today -- at just one-hour drive," Vucic said.
Ambassador Chen Bo said Serbia has been achieving great results in the field of infrastructure in the past years and that she is pleased that Chinese companies have also contributed.
"Infrastructure cooperation is an important part of Serbia-China relations, and integral part the Belt and Road initiative," she said.
Zhang Xiaoyuan, branch director of the China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) in Serbia, said that the company has been holding on to the principles of the Belt and Road Initiative -- mutually beneficial agreements, joint construction and shared benefits.
According to CCCC, the contract amount of the 17.6-km section is 233 million U.S. dollars. Another 31-km section of the E-763 highway from Cacak to Pozega is also being built by the CCCC, which is scheduled for completion around the end of 2021.
