EIB Global helps improve air traffic control system in Serbia and Montenegro

• The EU bank is investing €25 million to make the air navigation system in Serbia and Montenegro safer and more efficient.
• The loan will help to develop and implement cutting-edge software in line with the highest standards of the Single European Sky initiative.
• As one of its leading supporters, EIB Global has invested €6.6 billion so far in the transport sector in the Western Balkans, helping to make transport networks in the region safer and more sustainable.

The European Investment Bank (EIB Global) will provide a €25 million loan to upgrade the air navigation control system in Serbia and Montenegro. State-of-the-art equipment and software will enable SMATSA, the air navigation service provider in both countries, to implement the highest operational and safety standards, ensuring interoperability and optimising flight routes. The project aims to make air traffic management over Serbia and Montenegro more efficient, improving safety and delivering environmental benefits to European air travel. The investment will be used to develop a new software solution for air traffic management in line with the requirements set out by Eurocontrol (the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation) and the Digital European Sky strategy, contributing to digitalisation and automation. This initiative will enable SMATSA – which currently manages around 9% of all European flights – to keep abreast of the latest technologies, while also improving the connections between its control centers in Belgrade, Podgorica, Tivat, Batajnica, Kraljevo and Niš. In this way, the project will help reduce operational costs, shorten flight times, minimise delays and CO₂ emissions, while improving connectivity within the Western Balkans and with the EU. Co-financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), this project is part of the European Commission’s Economic and Investment Plan aimed at fostering connectivity and regional integration. As one of its leading supporters, EIB Global has invested €6.6 billion in total in the transport sector in the Western Balkans, helping to create safer and more sustainable transport networks in the region.