After it was announced that Croatia would build a highway from Split to Dubrovnik and the open question of whether this road would connect with other sections of the so-called Adriatic-Ionian corridor in neighboring countries, which DW has already written about, the dilemma is only partially resolved from Montenegro. They say that they have been informed about the idea from Zagreb, but they do not reveal where the connection point of the Croatian highway with Montenegro will be. In the meantime, they are preparing the construction of the second section of the Bar - Boljare highway, a high-speed road along the Montenegrin coast and a highway to Albania.
Although official Podgorica is aware of Croatia's plan to continue the construction of the highway from Split to Dubrovnik, the contact point has not yet been agreed upon.
"Activities are underway related to the coordination of the contact point with Croatia. We emphasize that we are preparing a conceptual design for a high-speed road, with an emphasis on crossing the Bay of Kotor, which will define the contact point with Croatia," the Montenegrin state-owned company Monteput said, adding that they are also preparing documentation for a highway to the border with Albania. The contact points of the high-speed road and the highway will be coordinated with Zagreb and Tirana.
Direction towards Albania
The expressway along the Montenegrin coast, which runs from the border with Croatia, connects to the Bar - Boljare highway in the wider area of Građani. "A highway is planned from the Sozina tunnel to the border with Albania and, after the development of conceptual designs for these roads, whose implementation is underway, these corridors will be included in the new Spatial Plan of Montenegro. It is in the process of being adopted and will be valid until 2040," Monteput states.
The aim is for both roads to valorize Montenegro's tourism potential and solve the long-standing problem of traffic jams on the Montenegrin coast. "This road, along with the Bar - Boljare highway, is a priority for construction. Minister of Transport Maja Vukićević met with Albanian Minister of Infrastructure Beljinda Baluku, where this was one of the topics," the Montenegrin Ministry of Transport told DW.
Tender for the second section – EU expects European companies
After a year, the pre-qualification tender for the construction of the second section of the Bar - Boljare highway (Mateševo - Andrijevica) was canceled and a new one was announced.
"This is a tender that will allow participation by all bidders, including those who participated in the pre-qualification process," Monteput confirmed to DW. The new tender was unofficially requested by the Delegation of the European Union in Podgorica and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), dissatisfied that no European companies responded to the pre-qualification process.
Officially, Monteput and the government say that the new tender is the result of an agreement to "allow all interested companies to apply through the main tender, not just those that applied in the pre-qualification phase." Another reason is that part of the route has changed in the meantime.
When asked by Montenegrin TV Vijesti whether they expect any European companies to apply for the new tender, the EU Ambassador to Podgorica Johan Satler said that the decision is up to the companies, but that they hope so. "We believe that it is a good thing that there is as wide a competition as possible, so that you get the best possible offers and the most technologically advanced solutions," Satler said.
Companies from Turkey, Azerbaijan and China applied for the pre-qualification tender for the construction of the second section, including CRBC, the company that built the first section of the Smokovac - Mateševo highway.
At the beginning of last year, the European Commission announced that it would participate in the construction of this section with 100 million euros in grant support, and the EBRD with a soft loan of 200 million euros.
The Mateševo - Andrijevica section is about 22 kilometers long, which is close to 14 percent of the total route of the Bar - Boljare highway. The signing of the design and construction contract was planned for the first half of 2025, and the completion of the works is expected in 2030. Monteput claims that they are doing everything to respect the planned deadlines, and that the cancellation of the pre-qualification procedure has no impact on this.
Bonus video:
