The UK government has agreed to provide a loan of £ 365million to the Serbian government to enable it to build a new highway to be delivered by US contractor Bechtel.

The company was contracted to deliver the Morava corridor as part of a joint venture with the Turkish engineering group ENKA. The UK government’s export credit agency UK Export Finance (UKEF) will provide the loan to Serbia, which will then pay the joint venture.

Bechtel in turn agreed to use goods and services worth £ 127.5million from the UK economy to work on the 112km long motorway. The new highway will link Pojate to Preljina and will be the second major transport artery in Serbia.

Bechtel Chief Executive Officer Brendan Bechtel said: “In an era of post-COVID recovery, this investment in the supply chain will benefit both the UK and Serbian economies and also allow Bechtel to continue to develop its partnerships. in both countries. “

UK International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the partnership with Bechtel “will boost UK exports, boost investment, support jobs and strengthen local economies, helping us to rebuild better after the pandemic”.

The loan announcement comes shortly after Bechtel presented its plan with its joint venture partner Westinghouse to restart development at the Wylfa nuclear site in North Wales, to the Welsh Affairs Committee. The joint venture will face UK clean energy company Shearwater, which has come up with an alternative business plan.

UKEF helps UK companies get work abroad by offering attractive loans to clients to finance projects. They also ensure that UK businesses don’t lose out if the customer has financial problems. Last year, Colas, Lagan, NMS and Contracta benefited from £ 620 million of projects that UKEF helped finance in Ghana, Uganda, Gabon and Zambia.

UKEF also provided $ 180 million to support Carillion’s work on phase three of the Dubai World Trade Center project, days before the now collapsed entrepreneur issued his first credit warning.