Dubai group eyes $15m Serbia fund JV

Dubai-based Global Capital Advisers Management (GCAM) has inked a deal with Government of Serbia to set up a joint venture fund with $15 million capital to identify and develop Serbian infrastructure projects for international investors.

At a ceremony held in Serbia’s capital city, Belgrade recently, Arun Panchariya, the chief executive of GCAM, exchanged a Memorandum of Cooperation with Velimer Ilic, Serbian Minister of Construction and Town Planning in the presence of Prime Minister Ivica Dacic.

The agreement commits the two parties to the creation of a joint venture, Global Infrastructure Development Company (GIDC), with $15 million of seed funding.

“Serbia is immensely well positioned in a strategically important part of Central Europe. We need to urgently upgrade our critical trading infrastructure to enable us to take advantage of the growing opportunities for trade, travel and tourism in and around our country,” said Velimir Ilic after signing the deal.

“I am very pleased to be committing our Government to a partnership with Panchariya and his colleagues at GCAM. They have a superb track record in the field of public-private-partnerships (PPP) for infrastructure project finance and we look forward to collaborating with them at this exciting time in Serbia’s economic development,” he added.

GIDC will use the funds to identify potential infrastructure projects in Serbia and elsewhere in the Balkans and will then develop feasibility studies for potential investors, he added.

Projects already in the early stages of identification include Ladjevci Cargo Centre at Morava Airport in Serbia, the development of a new seaport in Montenegro, major road and rail infrastructure in the region as well as tourism and agribusiness projects.

On the deal, Panchariya said: “My focus is on working with professional partners who will appreciate and benefit from our expertise in PPP for infrastructure.”

“There is much that needs to be done in Serbia but it has huge potential and I believe we can help propel Serbia to its rightful place as a trading hub for Central Europe,” he added.

Source Trade Arabia News Service

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