BELGRADE, Sep 01, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX News Network) -- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) would earmark 150 million euros (some 219 million U.S. dollars) to help the construction of the Serbian part of pan-European highway Corridor 10, Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said Monday. 

Cvetkovic said after talks with new EBRD President Thomas Mirow that the money would be used for the construction of the eastern leg of Corridor 10 running from Nis to Dimitrovgrad near the border with Bulgaria. 

He said the talks focused on cooperation in the construction of road and railway infrastructure, the power industry and the construction of Corridor 7 or the river route through Serbia. 

Cvetkovic said that they also focused on EBRD help in attracting foreign investors to come to Serbia and financing local government projects. 

Mirow said that the EBRD would invest 250 million to 280 million euros annually to help the government achieve its projected goals. 

He said that a good reason for his first visit to Serbia was the country's central role in the Balkan region, and the fact that its new government had demonstrated a wish to improve cooperation with the European Union.