Serbia opens first Chinese-built bridge in Europe  

A design sketch of the Zemun-Borča Bridge.

(ECNS) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his counterpart Aleksandar Vucic attended the opening ceremony of a Chinese-built bridge crossing the river Danube in the Serbian capital Belgrade on Thursday.

With a total investment of 170 million euros, the Zemun-Borča Bridge is the first such structure in Europe built by a Chinese firm.

The bridge effectively separates transit traffic and urban transport in Belgrade, and also greatly relieves congestion across the city. It has shortened the one-hour journey from the city centre to Borča to 10 minutes.

Representing the second bridge to span the Danube, the Zemun-Borča Bridge closes a 70-year chapter of Belgrade having only one river crossing.

Also known as The Pupin's Bridge, after Serbian chemist and physicist Michael Pupin, both design and construction were completed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, with preferential loans from Export-Import Bank of China.

Infrastructure projects are amongst China's first business ventures in Europe, with the successful completion of Zemun-Borča Bridge of particular significance to both countries involved.