The national football stadium will contribute to the development of patriotism, it will cost 257 million euros, and the return of the invested money is expected in 37 years, according to the previous feasibility study for the national stadium.
Although this analysis of costs and potential income of the future stadium was done three years ago, the conclusions about the justification of investing in the construction of the National Stadium have not been presented to the public until now.
One of the conclusions from the document is that Serbia does not need a stadium of the projected size, but that it will still be built because it is the “vision of the client”, that is, the client of the study.
As stated in the document, the study was commissioned by the Government of Serbia, and was done by the Chinese company China Railway 14th Bureau Group Co.Ltd.
With China Railway 14th Bureau Group Co.Ltd, as stated in the report on the work of the Government of Serbia for 2020, the Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the realization of the Project for the construction of urban infrastructure with the national stadium.
How did it all start?
Announcements of the construction of the national football stadium date back to 2014.
“Stadiums bring money,” said President Aleksandar Vucic at the presentation of the stadium construction project and the EXPO exhibition complex in mid-2023, and explained the motives for building the National Stadium.
Marko Milanovic from the Fiscal Council, an independent body in charge of controlling public finances, told that the National Stadium construction project has been accompanied by insufficient transparency and circumvention of procedures since its inception.
“Construction of the EXPO complex and the National Stadium will, apparently, be financed for the most part from borrowing. Those loans, with interest, will be returned by all taxpayers. This is the main reason why citizens deserve to know exactly which works, in which phases, deadlines and what are the expected effects of entering into this project,” stated Milanovic, RSE writes.
Photo: Radio Slobodna Evropa
