All Roads Lead to Belgrade: Unlocking Serbia’s Highway Potential

Roads as the Founding Pillar of Strategic Connectivity

While in 2025, the world is directed to innovation and finding more advanced and efficient ways to embrace strategic connectivity, and thus, further enhance the exchange of people, goods, and ideas, the founding pillar of infrastructure should, of course, not be forgotten. Roads also offer many benefits, which other forms of transport do not, and even though railways and rivers are cheaper per ton, road transport remains the backbone of logistics, especially in Europe. The main reasons are 24/7 availability, logistical simplicity within a 400km radius (suitable for Europe’s small territory), and the fact that rail and water freight typically conclude with shipments for trucks. Having that in mind, a drawn conclusion is that railway, river, and road transport are complementary, not exclusive. Highway importance is best confirmed by the structure of TEN-T (Trans European Transport-Network), in which roads make up to 61% of the entire network.

It can even be stated that strategic connectivity formally began its exponential growth with the construction of the first motorway in 1924, which connected the city of Milan to Lake Como (Italy). Though an internal connector of the country of Italy, it laid a founding block to the rapid growth of international infrastructure connectivity.

Revival of Serbia’s Motorway Importance

Serbia, being part of Europe, shares the same benefits of road transport as listed above. But the country suffered from major underinvestment in this sector, despite having one of the best transit positions on the continent. In the heart of the Balkans, Serbia’s geography makes it a natural crossroads linking Central Europe with the Black Sea, Aegean, and Adriatic. Serbia’s road network serves as a connectivity platform at the heart of Southeast Europe, linking Central Europe with the Western Balkans, the Black Sea, and the East Mediterranean. Two major Pan-European routes, Corridor X, running from Austria to Greece, and Corridor VII, the navigable Danube, intersect in Serbia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-European_corridors

Luckily, the underinvestment status quo has changed since the beginning of the last decade, as the government acknowledged connectivity as a high priority. Over the last decade, Serbia added over 240 km of new motorways, completing missing links on Corridor X and pushing into new highway corridors. As of mid-2025, Serbia has 1,046 km of motorways in service. Continuing this trend, Serbia will further advance its strategic connectivity and integrate itself into the continent’s most important supply chains.

Serbia’s Highway Network in 2025: State of Play

Serbia’s current highway network centers on a few major corridors. The backbone is Pan-European Corridor X, corresponding to the A1 motorway (E75) which runs north–south from the Hungarian border at Horgoš, through Novi Sad and Belgrade, to Niš and the North Macedonian border. This is Serbia’s trans-European spine, carrying the bulk of international traffic to/from Central Europe and Greece.

Other key motorways that are completed (including east and west branches of Corridor X) include:

https://www.putevi-srbije.rs/index.php/sr/organizacija/sektor-za-održavanje-javnih-puteva-i-i-ii-reda/odeljenje-održavanja-i-zaštite-autoputeva

On the other hand, key ongoing projects include:

The last two projects are of crucial value because they finally address Eastern Serbia’s long-standing problem of underinvestment and weak transport links. The Paraćin–Zaječar–Negotin fast road would connect the Timok region and Prahovo port directly to Corridor X, integrating local industry into national and regional supply chains. The “Danube Corridor” creates a continuous east–west route along the river, unlocking tourism, energy, and logistics potential in the Đerdap area while improving market access. Together, they strengthen Serbia’s strategic position on the Danube and bring the country closer to Romania economically, infrastructurally, and geopolitically.

Paraćin – Zaječar – Negotin Fast Road (https://www.ekapija.com/news/2992284/krece-izrada-prostornog-plana-za-drzavni-put-paracin-zajecar-negotin-duzine-125)

“Danube Corridor”: Požarevac – Veliko Gradište – Golubac – (extension to Donji Milanovac) ( https://www.nekretnine.rs/magazin/1920/od-beograda-do-pozarevca-za-70-minuta-dunavski-koridor-ce-transformisati-pozarevacki-okrug/ )

Highway financing has been a mix of European development loans, EU grants, and credit lines from China and others. The EU’s Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) has provided grants for design and construction on key corridors, alongside large loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which makes up in total from 2000 to 2020 support to the transport sector in Serbia by the EU exceeded €420 million in grants, while “soft financing” (loans) from the EU side were about €6.5 billion. China’s Exim Bank has also funded several sections via soft loans (€4.9 billion for the same period) tied to Chinese contractors. Commercial banks and state budgets fill the remainder. This blended financing model has accelerated construction but also raised public debt and imposed varied standards, an issue explored later.

Strategic Corridors and Regional Impact

Corridor X – Serbia’s Trans-European Spine

Corridor X is the backbone of Serbia’s entire transport system and the country’s clearest physical link to the EU. As part of the TEN-T Orient/East-Med Corridor, it runs straight through Serbia on the A1/E75, from Horgoš (Hungary) to Preševo (North Macedonia), with branches toward Croatia (A3) and Bulgaria (A4). It carries the dominant share of Serbia’s international trade and transit and functions as the shortest through-route between Central Europe and Greece, Turkey, and the wider Middle East.

The transformative moment came in 2019, when Serbia finished the last of the Niš–Dimitrovgrad and Leskovac–North Macedonia sections, removing decades-old bottlenecks and finally locking Serbia into the EU’s core road network. The results are immediate and measurable: faster freight movement, safer driving conditions, and an uninterrupted high-speed corridor from Belgrade toward Istanbul via Sofia. For exporters, this is a straight line into EU markets; for Turkey–EU logistics, Serbia is now a central waypoint.

Regionally, Corridor X defines Serbia’s position as the land bridge between Central Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. It ties Serbia directly to Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey, and positions Serbian territory as the natural transit platform on a 2226km corridor from Salzburg to Istanbul. With Greek ports like Thessaloniki and Piraeus now effectively one long drive from Central Europe through Serbia, freight volumes on the Belgrade–Niš–Skopje route are rising steadily. The strategic value is twofold: Serbia collects transit revenue and embeds itself inside European and Eurasian supply chains.

Most importantly, the EU classifies Corridor X as a core TEN-T corridor, which strengthens Serbia’s case for EU funding, deeper economic integration, and recognition of its role as the fulcrum of north–south connectivity in the Balkans.

A2 / “Miloš Veliki” – The Central Balkan North–South Axis

The A2 motorway, “Miloš Veliki”, has quickly become the Central Balkans’ new north–south logistics spine. A decade ago, it didn’t exist, while today, 150 km are open from Belgrade to Požega, carving a modern highway through Šumadija and West Serbia. The economic impact is already visible: industries in Kragujevac, Kraljevo, and Čačak now move goods to the north far faster and cheaper than on the old Ibar road. The Čačak–Belgrade run has dropped to about 1 hour 20 minutes, roughly half of what it used to be, an immediate boost for automotive, machinery, and metal producers. Industrial zones have expanded around A2 interchanges, Šimanovci, Obrenovac, and Preljina, as investors capitalize on reliable highway access. For central Serbia’s exporters, the A2 directly cuts trucking costs and sharpens competitiveness in EU markets.

Strategically, the A2 is Serbia’s corridor to the Adriatic. Once completed to Boljare (Montenegro), it becomes the fastest route from inland Serbia to Bar, strengthening trade security, energy options, and regional tourism flows, bypassing the slow mountain roads and tightening Serbia–Montenegro ties. By linking with Montenegro’s Bar–Boljare highway, the A2 also plugs Serbia into the logistics chain reaching the Adriatic.

The corridor’s geopolitical reach extends west as well: the planned Požega–Kotroman spur will connect Serbia with Višegrad (BiH) and Sarajevo, forming a central Balkans north–south route that binds Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia into a single traffic axis (explored later). If completed by 2030, the full potential of “Miloš Veliki” would position Serbia as the hub of a continuous motorway from the Pannonian Plain to the Adriatic, anchoring regional trade flows through Serbian territory and elevating its geoeconomic weight in the Western Balkans.

East–West Corridors (E-761, E-762, Niš–Merdare, Požega–Kotroman)

Serbia isn’t only building north–south highways, it’s now shaping a genuine east–west architecture across the Central Balkans. The anchor of that shift is the Morava Corridor (E761/A5), a 112 km motorway that will finally connect Niš (Corridor X) to Čačak (A2) and carve out a modern east–west spine through Central Serbia. Built by Bechtel, this corridor links the Bulgarian border on one end to Montenegro on the other, effectively tying together Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo* into a single, functional transport system. Once all segments are in place, a person would be able to drive Sofia - Niš - Čačak - Požega - Višegrad - Sarajevo almost entirely on high-speed roads. Cities like Kraljevo and Kruševac will get their first true motorway access, and the corridor’s junctions create a clean link toward Kosovo* from central Serbia, fitting into the broader vision of an “Internal Balkan Ring.”

Within that east–west strategy, two projects stand out.

The first is the Niš–Merdare–Priština “Peace Highway.” This is not just infrastructure, it’s an EU-backed political project, explicitly presented as a symbol of stability and cooperation between Serbs and Albanians. With over €140 million in EU grant support and a length of 103km, the highway would cut travel times and give both Serbia and Kosovo* a direct high-speed land route. By further potentially connecting Niš–Priština–Tirana–Durrës, it builds real economic interdependence across a politically sensitive triangle. The logic is clear: the more goods, workers, and freight flow across this corridor, the higher the opportunity cost of future tensions. But this project is de facto on stand-by, and needs to be revived.

The second major link is the Požega–Kotroman–Sarajevo highway, part of E761/E762. Serbia will build to the BiH border; the Republic of Srpska continues through Višegrad; and the project ultimately links into Sarajevo, with strong Turkish backing. It is one of two Belgrade–Sarajevo routes, but the Požega option is the one that truly joins the heartlands of both states. Economically, it opens a faster trade path and improves tourism flows. Geopolitically, it’s a tangible reconciliation corridor: a direct, high-speed road between two capitals that were once on opposite sides of a war. Diplomats aren’t wrong when they frame it as a way to connect Bosnia’s Serb and Bosniak communities more closely through commerce with Serbia.

Taken together, these east–west corridors are more than engineering projects; they are regional stabilizers. By tying Serbia with Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo* through dependable transport routes, they create patterns of daily economic life that make conflict more irrational and cooperation profitable. In a region where political dialogue often stalls, roads are doing quiet work as “economic peacekeepers,” knitting the Balkans into a network where prosperity, not division, becomes the dominant force.

Belgrade as the Regional Road Hub

Belgrade has become the unquestioned centre of Serbia’s road system, and the numbers speak for themselves. Every major corridor ultimately converges on the capital: Corridor X’s branches meet there, the A2 practically begins at its doorstep, and even new projects like the planned “Vožd Karađorđe” motorway are designed to feed into the Belgrade ring. East–west routes are no exception. Morava Corridor traffic is channelled toward Belgrade through the A1. This creates a genuine hub-and-spoke network in which the capital isn’t just another stop, but the point through which the country’s mobility and economic flows are organised.

That structure has already reshaped the map of Serbian logistics. Batajnica’s new intermodal terminal sits at the intersection of highways and rail lines, signalling Belgrade’s ambition to become a regional freight node. Šimanovci’s rapid industrial growth, driven by immediate motorway access, shows how companies naturally gravitate toward the capital’s transport arteries. As Serbia continues building out its motorway network, Belgrade’s role will only deepen: it is steadily evolving into a regional road hub that will in time be comparable to Vienna or Budapest, a place where flows from all directions converge, are reorganised and redirected, and from which the rest of the country increasingly depends.

Belgrade’s role as Serbia’s highway crossroads comes with a major catch: too much transit traffic is still spilling onto the city’s edges, clogging routes like the Gazela Bridge where international trucks and daily commuters collide. The only real fix is completing the Belgrade Bypass. The northern and southern stretches already work, pulling part of the load away from the city, but the crucial eastern leg toward Vinča and Pančevo (including a new Danube bridge) is still unfinished. That missing segment is what will finally let traffic from Niš, Zagreb, or Romania bypass Belgrade entirely instead of squeezing through it. It’s also the key link needed for the future Belgrade–Pančevo–Romania highway. In other words, the bypass extension is the final structural piece that will turn Belgrade into a fully functional hub where all major corridors connect cleanly without overwhelming city streets.

Geopolitical Dimensions: Highways as Tools of Statecraft

EU Integration and TEN-T Alignment

Serbia’s highway expansion is fundamentally tied to EU integration, with major corridors now incorporated into the TEN-T network. Through the Transport Community, Serbia is aligning safety, tolling, and environmental standards with the EU, enabling smoother accession talks and unlocking grants under WBIF. As corridors are completed, Serbian exporters gain easier access to the EU single market, and with Serbia’s 2030 highway plan aligned to the TEN-T core network deadline, these projects have become the clearest indicator of Serbia’s readiness for membership. The more it builds, the more it integrates into Europe’s economic bloodstream.

Between East and West: Infrastructure Diplomacy

Highways remain the main battleground of geopolitical influence, but China’s once-dominant role is now seen as increasingly problematic. Chinese-built motorways came with opaque procurement, non-competitive tenders, and non-Paris Club debt conditions. These state-to-state deals limited transparency, sidelined Serbian and European firms, and created liabilities Serbia must correct to meet EU standards. Environmental and labor concerns on Chinese sites further underscore the misalignment with the EU rules.

In contrast, the EU and US now offer transparent, sustainability-focused alternatives through Global Gateway, WBIF, and DFC, providing grants and low-interest loans that do not compromise debt sustainability or procurement integrity. EU-backed projects directly strengthen Serbia’s competitiveness and advance its accession agenda. As Brussels expands Balkan connectivity funding toward 2027, Serbia increasingly views EU-aligned financing as the only viable long-term path.

Belgrade could still hedge by allowing Chinese or Turkish firms selective contracts, but the structural shift is clear: sustainable highway development and EU membership require Serbia to reduce dependence on Chinese loans and embrace open tenders, European consortia, and EU technical norms. Infrastructure is Serbia’s diplomatic currency, and choosing EU-compatible partners signals where the country is headed.

Highways as Confidence-Building in the Western Balkans

In the Western Balkans, highways function as confidence-building measures by creating shared economic interests that ease political tensions. If completed, the Niš–Merdare–Priština Peace Highway would reconnect Serbian and Albanian communities, anchoring reconciliation through mobility and trade. Likewise, the Belgrade–Sarajevo highway could foster cooperation between Serbia and Bosnia, even when political relations remain strained. Modern corridors strengthen regional initiatives like Open Balkan and improve cross-border minority ties. By shrinking physical and psychological distances, highways create the conditions for stability and normalize relations across the region.

Safeguarding Serbia’s Position as the Balkans’ Transit Hub

Debates triggered by Bulgaria and Romania’s entry into Schengen, particularly claims that Serbia may be “bypassed”, overlook the fundamental geography of European freight flows. Serbia remains the only continuous, high-capacity north–south land corridor connecting Central Europe with North Macedonia, Greece, and Turkey. Corridor X offers the shortest, flattest, and fastest route between these markets, and even the most optimistic projections of a Romania–Bulgaria–Greece alternative reveal significant structural disadvantages: longer distances, higher fuel expenditure, and infrastructure that remains less continuous and more mountainous than the Serbian alignment. Freight operators consistently prioritise time, cost, and terrain, all of which overwhelmingly favour Serbia.

However, Serbia should not interpret this structural advantage as unconditional. A closer quantitative comparison illustrates the margin within which policy choices matter. The Romania–Bulgaria detour adds roughly 180–200 km to core EU–Turkey and EU–Greece relations, around 10–13% longer, translating into €150–400 higher operating costs per trip based on IRU’s cost range of €0.50–€2.00/km. This makes the alternative economically inferior as a default corridor, but not prohibitively costly for certain cargo types, especially if Serbia allows border delays, high tolls, or administrative friction to persist. In other words, while Serbia’s geography anchors it at the centre of Balkan mobility, its policy environment determines how much of that advantage it captures. Geography sets the baseline, but competitiveness decides the traffic.

Lowering Tolls and Streamlining Transit: A Strategic Imperative

To strengthen its position amid shifting European mobility patterns, Serbia must actively reinforce its value proposition as the fastest and most cost-efficient transit gateway. At present, Serbia’s motorway tolls, among the highest in the Western Balkans, risk eroding competitiveness precisely at a moment when freight operators are recalculating routes in light of Schengen changes. A calibrated reduction of tolls, particularly on Corridor X and major east–west connectors, would directly improve Serbia’s attractiveness relative to the Romania-Bulgaria route, where distance is longer but legal predictability is improving.

Lower tolls would not necessarily reduce fiscal intake. Increased traffic volumes, higher repeat usage, and the expansion of logistics services would compensate for reduced per-kilometre charges, while protecting Serbia’s long-term position in the European supply chain. Combined with border-streamlining measures, digital transit systems, and continued alignment with EU transport standards, such a strategy would ensure that Serbia remains the preferred corridor for Europe–Turkey and Europe–Greece freight, even as its neighbours deepen integration with Schengen.