MOSCOW, December 24. /ITAR-TASS/. A Russian Emergencies Ministry plane delivered 25 tonnes of relief aid to Serbia on Tuesday, the Ministry reports on its website.
An Ilyushin-76 aircraft left the Ramenskoye airfield, located near Moscow, on Tuesday morning, following instructions from the Russian government, for the city of Nis in southern Serbia.
“Twenty-five tonnes of relief aid include tents, blankets, boats, water-filled dikes, motor pumps and mobile electric power stations,” the Russian Emergencies Ministry went on to say.
The plane landed at Nis airport at 12:15 Moscow time, the Ministry said in its report.
Nis is a home to a Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center, which started official operations in April 2012. A few legal details remain to be solved before the centre can start operating in full measure.
Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said in his previous interviews that the Russian government had allocated 27 million dollars to finance the center which was expected to start operations in full measure soon.
According to Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, the center will have an anti-fire aircraft and rescue, demining and anti-flood equipment; it will also have food stocks, medical supplies and blankets that will help reacting promptly to any emergencies. The center can render assistance in various emergency situations in the territory of Serbia and other states.
In the meantime, Russian Railways are starting the renovation of Serbian railways.
RZD International LLC, a Russian Railways sister company, has started obtaining building equipment and hiring employees for the construction and renovation of Serbian railways under a contract signed by Russian Railways and the Serbian Railways Joint-Stock Company in May 2013. Russian Railways is planning to start works in Serbia in March 2014.
It became possible after the Russian Finance Ministry had agreed to finance the contract worth 941.2 million dollars, of which 800 million dollars will be granted by Russia as a state export credit.
Under the contract, Russian Railways is to repair 370 kilometers of railway tracks in Serbia; build and electrify a 16-kilometer-long section of the Belgrade-Panchevo railway; renovate and build 44 kilometers of second tracks on the Stara Pazova-Novi Sad railway as well as renovate the Serbian section of the 200-kilometer-long Belgrade-Bar railroad.
Besides, the contract provides for the delivery of diesel trains produced by the Metrovagonmash Company (which is affiliated with Transmashholding).