China and Serbia have inked a €170m ($255m) deal to build a bridge over the Danube river in Belgrade.

The 1.5km-long bridge is expected have 21km of connecting roads between two Belgrade suburbs.

The project is expected to be largely financed by a Chinese bank loan, according to AFP.

Construction work is scheduled to start in September and be completed by 2013.

The Serbian capital currently has four bridges over the two rivers.