Consortium consisting of American banks to invest 5-6 billion USD in "Prokop" and Sava Amphitheater?

Consortium of American banks, of which representatives recently paid a visit to Serbia, is interested in investment of 5-6 billion USD in completion of railway station Prokop and organization of Sava Amphitheater. Milanko Šarančić, general director of Railways of Serbia, says that potential investors have already prepared draft of the project that could realized in 2- 2.5 years.

Šarančić says that the Russians and the Israeli are also interested in Prokop and Sava Amphitheater. However, Consortium of banks from America has already made calculations for its project unofficially named "Small Manhattan". They announce that their investment would be the biggest investment after the World War II on territory of former Yugoslavia.

Completion of Prokop and relocation of main railway station, which will be followed by construction of business and apartment facilities in Sava Amphitheater on about 110 ha, is divided into three phases. The first implies completion of railway station in Prokop which is under construction for 30 years. This phase will include commencement of construction of business facilities and related hotel on the board that covers railway station. At the same time, the accesses to railway station will be constructed. One will be able to reach railway station either from highway or from Bulevar Mira Boulevard.

"In order to create conditions for relocation of railway station from Sava Amphitheater to Prokop, it is necessary to have two auxiliary, technical stations built in Zemun Polje and Karaburma. We have possibility to chose to ask investor for about 20% of net housing square meters that will be built in the second phase in the facilities in the vicinity of Prokop, or to insist on completion of technical stations. In case we chose apartments, which will be allotted to employees of Railways of Serbia, those stations will be completed through compensation for part of land on which Main Railway Station is located now", general director of Railways of Serbia explains.

Within 122,000 square meters that will be built in Prokop (facilities that surround it will have additional 150,000–170,000 square meters, Railways will obtain few thousands of square meters of office space. Only small part of that space will be needed for activities related to railway operations, so that the excess of the space will be rented. The most valuable part of the project is Sava Amphitheater itself with surface of about 110 ha. Investors plan to build several business complexes with related hotels and trade centers inside the Amphitheater, including related housing part. However, signing of any contract with investors must be preceded with agreement of Railways and City of Belgrade on ownership relations. Construction of Prokop and Belgrade's railway cloverleaf was started in 1974 with joint investments, but since partners, during these three decades, were not investing at the same rate, new ownership relations will have to be established on real and solid bases, says Šarančić and points out that Railways has already started negotiations with Belgrade and that both sides are willing to solve all misunderstandings.