After nearly two months of non-stop demonstrations, the largest protest in decades took place in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, on Sunday, December 22. Since the first week of November, protesters have been demanding the resignation of President Vučić and his ruling party, the Serbian Progressive Party. They accuse the current leader of corruption, nepotism and lack of transparency– all of that, as they think, has been s a concomitant event during the renovation works in Novi Sad.
The train station has undergone two renovations in recent years as part of questionable mega projects involving Chinese state-owned enterprises. All these led to poor workmanship and ultimately to the death of 15 people on November 1 when a ceiling collapsed at the Novi Sad train station.
The Novi Sad railway station underwent a major renovation as part of a Chinese-led project to upgrade Serbia’s railway network, focusing on the route north from Belgrade. This effort is tied to China’s expansive Belt and Road Initiative, aimed at speeding up the transport of Chinese goods to Europe.
Renovation work began in 2021, with parts of the station unveiled during the 2022 election campaign. However, reconstruction continued until July 2024, when local authorities announced that the station had been rebuilt “to European standards.” According to Novi Sad news outlet 021, key documents related to the renovation were classified as confidential.
Chinese investments in Serbia—spanning infrastructure, mining, and surveillance—have often been surrounded by controversy, with persistent concerns about standards and transparency. In 2021, a construction permit was issued for the complete overhaul of the railway infrastructure between Novi Sad and the Hungarian border. The permit mentioned the “reconstruction, adaptation, and extension” of Novi Sad’s railway station but didn’t specify which parts of the building would be impacted. Among the supporting documents was a project titled “Architecture Project for the Extension and Adaptation of the Underpass and Canopy of the Novi Sad Railway Station,” though it offered no additional details.
Within days of the catastrophic event, Transport Minister Goran Sevic, the Serbian State Railways Company, the State Transport Institute, and the Chinese consortium – China Railway International Co. Ltd. and China Communications Construction Company (CRIC-CCCC), which was involved in the renovation of the building, denied the allegations and stated that the ceiling that collapsed was not part of their work. But they were soon exposed. The footage shared on social media indicates that the collapse may have been triggered by the weight of newly installed heavy glass. “It’s not true that no work was done on the awning, because it was covered with glass post-factum,” said geologist and engineer Zoran Đajić, who supervised the railway station reconstruction works until 2023, to the domestic press.
Although CRIC and CCCC assert that they did not directly construct the canopy, legal experts contend that, as umbrella contractors, they hold responsibility for the performance of their subcontractors. This brings up wider concerns regarding the quality and safety of BRI projects, especially those involving local subcontractors.
When asked about unconfirmed reports of an extraordinary inspection of other projects involving CRIC and CCCC, Vucevic stated, “I will never take part in this potential anti-Chinese hysteria that is being imposed…“. After, he also mentioned sarcastically, that maybe they should arrest all the representatives of Chinese companies.
To eliminate the lack of transparency and identify the main culprits, the participants of the action are demanding the opening of restoration work documents and declarations, as well as holding those responsible for the case accountable.
