Vucic Announces 311 Million Euro Sombor-Vrbas Railway

Vucic Announces 311 Million Euro Sombor-Vrbas Railway

Serbia's president visited Kljajicevo near Sombor, announcing the railway's reconstruction, hospital funding, and a village center redesign during his tour of the West Backa District.

Milan Stanković·September 6, 2026·3 min read·0

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Vucic addressed reporters and residents in Kljajicevo during his visit to the West Backa District./ Photo: TV Pink Printscreen

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic visited the Construct Invest company in Kljajicevo, in the Sombor municipality, on September 6, as part of a tour of the West Backa District. Speaking to residents gathered outside the plant, he announced the reconstruction of the Sombor-Vrbas railway, funding for the first phase of a hospital in Sombor, and a redesign of the village’s own center. Vucic delivered his remarks in front of the factory, addressing residents who had turned out with Serbian flags and a banner reading “Welcome, Mr. President.”

The railway carries the biggest price tag in the announced package. The Sombor-Vrbas line, 53 kilometers long, is currently closed, and even before it shut down, trains could not exceed 30 kilometers per hour on it. The reconstruction is estimated at 311 million euros.

“Now we’re going to build a good Sombor-Vrbas railway, 53 kilometers of it. That’s 311 million euros, that’s an enormous amount of money,” Vucic said outside the Construct Invest plant.

For the hospital in Sombor, the president announced 2.175 billion dinars, roughly 20 million euros, for the first phase of construction, promising the money would be disbursed immediately. He addressed the center of Kljajicevo itself separately, acknowledging that the municipality lacks the funds to handle it on its own.

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“About 650,000 euros for redoing the center of Kljajicevo, and we’re ready to pay that right away because we know Sombor doesn’t have enough money,” Vucic said.

A road to Vrbas and a new interchange

Vucic also gave residents a deadline for part of a bigger project: a fast road meant to connect Backi Breg, via Sombor, to Kljajicevo. Under the announcement, the first phase of that section opens on Vidovdan, June 28, 2028. Immediately afterward, he said, work begins on the continuation from Kljajicevo through Kula to Vrbas, up to the Srbobran interchange, with the main junction located right in Kljajicevo.

“We need to provide 2.175 billion dinars, or about 20 million euros, for the hospital in Sombor, so we can finally carry out the first phase, and we’ll hand over that money right away,” Vucic said.

The president also linked the road to investment across the district, arguing that the new infrastructure would cut the drive from Belgrade to Kljajicevo to an hour and a half, opening the door to new investors throughout the West Backa District, not just within the city of Sombor.

Sewage and a local road

Residents of Kljajicevo also raised questions with the president about everyday village concerns. Asked about building a sewage network, Vucic said it would take three to four years, estimating the network for Kljajicevo alone at around 20 million euros, while a similar system for neighboring Prigrevica was priced at 16 million euros. The four-kilometer road between Kljajicevo and Conoplja also came up, with Vucic promising residents an update on the construction timeline within the next few days.

The president’s visit to the West Backa District was also attended by Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Minister Dragan Glamocic, President of the Provincial Government Maja Gojkovic, and Sombor Mayor Antonio Ratkov. In Kljajicevo, Vucic was welcomed outside the factory by company owner Ljubomir Buncin, along with his wife Zorica and their children Kosta, Petar and Vuk. Construct Invest, which builds residential and non-residential buildings, was founded in June 2022, employs nine people, and carries an A+ credit rating for 2026.

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This was not the first announcement out of Vojvodina this week. We previously reported that the president announced 90 million euros for the hospital in Subotica and 200 new jobs there, so the package for Sombor and Kljajicevo arrives as a continuation of the same tour through western Vojvodina, following a similar pattern: hospitals, railways and local infrastructure building on one another within the same district.

The next check on these announcements will be the deadline for the road, Vidovdan 2028, the date the president himself singled out as the first measurable target to come out of this visit.