A Chinese company is likely to be among the top candidates to cooperate with Serbia, as the Balkan country plans to build a landmark navigable canal, a senior Serbian official said on Saturday.

Analysts said that if it materializes, the move would be an important breakthrough in infrastructure cooperation between China and Europe, especially as several previous ventures have been aborted by a number of countries.

Of the potential candidates, Chinese businesses have voiced the most interest in the waterway and have "provided a great deal of unconditional support", said Milan Bacevic, Serbia's minister of Natural Resources, Mining and Spatial Planning.

He made the remarks shortly after concluding a protocol of understanding with a Chinese company, whose name he refused to disclose, on the project, which has been dubbed the "Belgrade-Thessaloniki navigable canal" by local media.

The canal would link Belgrade, the capital of landlocked Serbia, with the port of Thessaloniki in Greece via Macedonia, by connecting the Danube, Morava and Vardar rivers. The proposed waterway would capitalize on Serbia's strategic location at the crossroads of central and southeastern Europe.

A feasibility study would follow an initial phase of cooperation. Companies from the United States and Germany have also expressed interest in the project.

Bacevic emphasized the importance of the Sino-Serbian partnership and China's long experience in waterway projects. However, he maintained that "the final choice of partner will be decided by assessing each candidate's strengths and previous performance, rather than where they come from".

"Considering the similarities between the river Vardar and China's Yangtze River, we would like to cooperate with a company that has experience of water control and building hydropower stations on the Yangtze River," said Bacevic.

It is estimated that the canal would require investment of $15 billion to $17 billion and would cover an area of around 10,500 square kilometers - equal to the territory of the autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija, the Serbian Tanjug News Agency quoted the minister as saying.

Wei Jinghua, China's former ambassador to Serbia, said the canal would boost Serbia's flagging economy through job creation and by accelerating its trade via Greece, the country's traditional outlet to the sea.

Economic growth is one of Belgrade's top priorities this year. Serbia's GDP is estimated to have contracted by 2 percent in 2012.

China also has the means to pump capital into Serbia's infrastructure at a time when most countries in crisis-stricken Europe are unable to do so.

Meanwhile, increasing cooperation with a traditional European partner could provide an opening for Chinese companies seeking to grow their market share in a continent that has been difficult to access, said Wei.

Jovan Kovacic, president of East-West Bridge, a Belgrade think tank, said China's participation in infrastructure construction would be a big plus for Serbia.

"China has serious plans for the region and apparently has the will to invest billions of dollars here. Thanks to the good relations between Belgrade and Beijing, Serbia is very much part of that," he told the Financial Times.

zhaoshengnan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 01/28/2013 page12)