Montenegro signs highway construction contract with Chinese consortium

BELGRADE, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Montenegro on Friday signed a commercial contract with a Chinese consortium for the design and construction of the 22-km Matesevo-Andrijevica section of the Bar-Boljare Highway.

The contract was signed by Montenegro's state-owned road company, Monteput, and PowerChina at a ceremony in Podgorica attended by Minister of Transport and Maritime Affairs Filip Radulovic, the Finance Minister Novica Vukovic, and Chinese Ambassador to Montenegro Chen Xufeng.

According to project details, the highway section will be designed for a speed of 100 km per hour and feature two lanes in each direction with emergency shoulders. Due to the mountainous terrain, the route will include a significant number of bridges and tunnels, comprising 36 major structures with a total length of approximately 6.6 km. The section will include twin tunnels measuring 3,895 meters and 3,945 meters, respectively.

Speaking at the ceremony, Monteput CEO Milan Lilicic said his company has confidence in PowerChina's engineering experience and looks forward to close cooperation to overcome technical challenges and ensure the timely, high-quality delivery of the project.

The Bar-Boljare Highway is a strategic infrastructure project intended to improve connectivity within Montenegro and link the Adriatic port of Bar with the border with Serbia as part of a broader European transport corridor.

The overall highway is planned to extend approximately 165 km. Its first completed section, the 41-km Smokovac-Matesevo stretch, opened to traffic in July 2022. ■