No-tender deals under intergovernmental agreements

Category: Money and deals

Period: from 2009

Since 2009, Serbia has awarded major infrastructure contracts to Chinese state-owned companies without a public tender, on the basis of agreements with China, so the Public Procurement Law does not apply to them; the same model was also used for the Morava Corridor built by the Bechtel-Enka consortium. The prices of several projects rose many times over after the contracts were signed, and according to the Fiscal Council, about seven billion euros' worth of contracts were concluded outside that law in 2025. No proceedings have been launched in any case over contracting of this kind, and the Student List, winner of the 25 October 2026 election, has announced it will publish the contracts and review these deals.

The agreement with China and its annexes

Since 2009, Serbia has contracted major infrastructure work with Chinese state companies without a public tender, on the basis of an infrastructure cooperation agreement with China. A 2013 annex exempted these projects from competitive bidding, and because international agreements override domestic law, the Public Procurement Law does not apply to them. The commercial contracts can be kept secret, and the work is as a rule paid for with loans from Chinese banks.

The same model, with a special law and an agreement with the US, was applied to the Morava Corridor built by the Bechtel-Enka consortium.

Eleven deals without a tender

The pattern tracks eleven such deals involving CRBC, Shandong, CCCC, PowerChina, CMEC and Bechtel-Enka, from the Pupin Bridge to the "Vožd Karađorđe" road. The prices of several projects rose many times over after the contracts were signed, and deadlines were missed: the cost of the Belgrade–Zrenjanin–Novi Sad motorway rose from €530 million to €1.596 billion.

The Novi Sad–Subotica railway is covered in the affair over the canopy in Novi Sad; Linglong, Zijin, EXPO 2027 and Jadar are separate affairs.

Criminal complaint over the Old Sava Bridge

No proceedings have been brought over this kind of contracting in any case. In 2024, the ZIP Network filed a criminal complaint against city officials of Belgrade over the decay of the Old Sava Bridge, claiming that it benefited PowerChina.

Warnings and a promised review

In its reports, the European Commission says Serbia bypasses its public procurement law through intergovernmental agreements and special laws, and that this creates a risk of corruption. According to the Fiscal Council, around seven billion euros' worth of contracts were concluded outside that law in 2025.

The Student List, which won the election of 25 October 2026, has announced that it will publish the contracts and review these deals.

Participants

Aleksandar Vučić: In 2020 he signed the decree on the amendments to the agreement with China; in 2024 he blamed the former government for the secrecy of the contracts (commented on the case)
Zorana Mihajlović: As minister, she signed the €606 million contract with CRBC for the Fruška Gora Corridor in 2020, and in 2019 a contract with Bechtel-Enka for 112.3 km of motorway (responsible)
Siniša Mali: As finance minister, on 22 January 2021 he signed a €4.4 billion metro memorandum with companies chosen without a tender (responsible)
Goran Vesić: As minister, he said the provisions on selecting a strategic partner were being scrapped “because there is a Law on Public Procurement” (commented on the case)
Tomislav Momirović: He is named in connection with the rising cost of the Belgrade–Zrenjanin–Novi Sad motorway, which the Fiscal Council has called into question (commented on the case)
Miloš Vučević: On 19 March 2022 he said the state was funding the bridge in Novi Sad with €175.5 million (commented on the case)
Ana Brnabić: In 2020 she said CRBC was a partner “that is reliable, fast and efficient” (commented on the case)
Zvonko Veselinović: As co-owner of the Slovac quarry, he won subcontracting work from China's CCCC on the “Miloš Veliki” section, which was awarded through direct negotiation (responsible)
Milan Radoičić: As co-owner of the Slovac quarry, he won subcontracting work from China's CCCC on the “Miloš Veliki” section, which was awarded through direct negotiation (responsible)
Government of the Republic of Serbia: In 2009 it signed an agreement with China for deals without tenders; in 2024, a €720 million metro contract with PowerChina (responsible)
Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure: Through its minister, it signed the contract for Lot 3 of the metro with PowerChina on 18 September 2026. (responsible)
Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia: Through its minister, in 2021 it signed a €4.4 billion memorandum on the metro with companies chosen without a tender (responsible)
National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia: In 2020 it passed a law allowing the Government to bypass public procurement for major projects; the European Commission found that it was not in line with EU law (responsible)
PE Corridors of Serbia: Cited in connection with the rising cost of the Belgrade–Zrenjanin–Novi Sad motorway and the contract with Shandong for the “Vožd Karađorđe” road (commented on the case)
Aleksandar Šapić: According to a criminal complaint by the ZIP network, as mayor he allowed the Old Sava Bridge to deteriorate, thereby enabling another legal entity to gain a benefit (responsible)
Zoran Radojičić: According to a criminal complaint by the ZIP network, as mayor he allowed the Old Sava Bridge to deteriorate, thereby enabling another legal entity to gain a benefit (responsible)
City of Belgrade / City Administration: The city's Directorate for Construction Land refused to give an activist the contracts for the Sava bridge, calling them a “trade secret” (responsible)
National Bank of Serbia: It refused to tell Radio Free Europe how much Serbia owes China in total, declaring the data confidential (responsible)
China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC): Serbia abandoned the 2018 contract for the Belgrade–Niš railway in 2021; it has deals worth more than €10 billion with CCCC and CRIC (responsible)
CRIC&CCCC consortium (China Railway International, China Communications Construction Company): Together with CRBC, it has reportedly been engaged on projects worth more than ten billion euros (responsible)
China Shandong International Economic & Technical Cooperation Group (Shandong): In 2026 it won the €1.3 billion “Vožd Karađorđe” road through a direct deal, and the cost of the Belgrade–Zrenjanin–Novi Sad motorway has nearly tripled (responsible)
PowerChina (Power Construction Corporation of China): It won the €94.1 million new bridge over the Sava and the metro without a tender, and in 2024 the €720 million contract for Lot 2 of the metro (responsible)
China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC): On 20 January 2020 it won the Belgrade wastewater project without a tender; the first phase was estimated at €271 million (responsible)
Bechtel-Enka consortium (Bechtel, Enka): As the only bidder under a special law, it won the €745 million Morava Corridor, whose cost had nearly tripled by 2025 (responsible)
Export-Import Bank of China (Exim Bank): It lends for Chinese projects, about 85 percent of their value; Serbia is repaying 14 loans, and the debt is about €2.8 billion (commented on the case)
European Commission: For 2024, it said that Serbia bypasses public procurement through agreements; exempted contracts were worth €7.1 billion in 2023. (oversight and the public)
Fiscal Council of the Republic of Serbia: He reported that in 2025 public bodies signed contracts worth around seven billion euros outside the Public Procurement Law (oversight and the public)
Transparency Serbia: It warned that the strategic partner law allows procedures to be “tailor-made” for a partner chosen in advance (oversight and the public)
Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC): A 2022 study of its showed that Serbia pays its Chinese partners almost a third more than the bidders not selected (oversight and the public)
Serbia Centre (SRCE): She asked why the annexes to the Morava Corridor contract are not public and cited payments of about €1.9 billion (oversight and the public)
Student List – Students Are Winning: Pledges to publish contracts and to review secret intergovernmental agreements and laws for individual projects (oversight and the public)
Aleksandra Sofronijević: She signed the contract for the 82.71 km “Vožd Karađorđe” road together with the director of Corridors of Serbia, in Vučić's presence (responsible)
Đorđe Miketić: He said that around €100 million would be enough to build two new bridges over the Sava, citing a complaint dated 3 September 2024 (oversight and the public)