Overview:

Serbia has a long tradition of highly-qualified engineers and engineering firms that participate in global projects, with links to Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. This expertise and historical ties, coupled with an estimated $455 billion green building materials market globally, are key to the Project’s efforts to drive growth in Serbia’s construction and building materials sector.

The global financial crisis in late 2008 and 2009 severely affected the construction and building materials sectors in Serbia, resulting in reduced exports to the European Union (EU) and traditional Russian and regional markets and a 27.8% decrease in the value of contracted works of Serbian companies locally and internationally from the previous year. Nevertheless, opportunities for growth still exist in several key areas within the country, including infrastructure and civil engineering projects, affordable housing development, and green/sustainable construction and building products.

Strategic Approach and Objectives:

The Serbia Competitiveness Project aims to build the capacity and competitiveness of Serbian firms by supporting the development of the local International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) chapter, facilitating exports of building materials through targeted linkages, increasing awareness of green building principles, and building local demand and supply for green designs and products.

The Project aims to achieve the following three objectives: 

• Expand the adherence to internationally recognized FIDIC standards in the Serbia construction sector so they can bid on larger and more complex projects in traditional Middle East and North African markets 
• Develop increased awareness of and demand for Green Building materials and services, and support expansion of LEED AP and Chain of Custody (COC) and certifications in Serbia 
• Facilitate sales, exports and investment in construction services and building materials, focusing on target markets such as Russia, Albania and the Middle East

Key Activities:

FIDIC Chapter Establishment and Institutional Development – International banks, such as the World Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction Development, and most commercial banks, require that their projects are implemented in accordance with FIDIC standards. Therefore, Serbian consultants and engineers who comply with FIDIC standards automatically are more competitive when bidding on local and international projects. The Project facilitated the establishment of the Association of Consulting Engineers in Serbia (ACES) in February 2009 with 16 industry-leading firms as founders. In September of that year, ACES was granted membership into FIDIC as a National Association member. Read more about the ACES Success Story here. This has resulted in broader introduction of FIDIC standards for Serbian firms and the Project continues to build the capacity and membership base of ACES to expand this further.

GreenBuildingProduct System – Demand for green building products is expected to grow to a $455 billion market in the next few years. In order to meet that demand, the Competitiveness Project, with ACES, is developing a green building products rating system (GBPS) for Serbia that applies existing major systems and guidelines to Serbian products, and creates an online database and inventory of green building products and their manufacturers in Serbia.

GreenBuilding Curriculum Development – The Project is facilitating the incorporation of Green Building into the curricula of technical faculties in Serbia, starting with the University of Belgrade Architectural Faculty. The curriculum is designed to prepare university students to obtain a LEED® Green Associate professional accreditation, a credential which denotes a basic knowledge of green design, construction and operations. Learn more about Green Building Curriculum Development on our Workforce Development page here.

LEED® Green Associate Certification Support – The Project is working closely with the Association of Consulting Engineers of Serbia (ACES) and Colliers International in implementing the first LEED® Green Associate course in Serbia. The course covers topics such as costs and benefits of Green Building, LEED certification processes and LEED core concepts. The Project offers financial support to cover up to 50% of the cost of the certification course and test for professionals, students, faculty members, and ACES members. The Project thus far has supported over 100 professionals (architects, engineers, professors, journalists) and students to the program, and a second round will be underway shortly. For more information on LEED Certification and curriculum development, visit our Workforce Development page here. To learn how the Competitiveness Project can support you to obtain LEED Certification, click here.

Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency – The Project also promotes renewable energy consumption in Serbia in order to facilitate investment in the sector and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We have funded energy efficiency audits in manufacturing firms to identify cost saving measures. For more information on our energy efficiency activities, visit our Renewable Energy page.

Trade Show Participation – The Project, in cooperation with SIEPA and Velexpo, has provided direct technical assistance to 11 Serbian building materials manufacturers to market their products in the Albanian and Russian markets through participation in targeted trade fairs, including Mosbuild in Moscow and Panair in Albania. The Competitiveness Project conducts pre-fair training workshops, arranges B2B meetings, prepares promotional materials, and assists manufacturers with post-fair follow up activities.