The second section of the Montenegrin highway, from Mateševo to Andrijevica, 21 kilometers long, is entering the final phase of preparations.
Minister of Transport Maja Vukićević points out that the tender was open to everyone and that the priority will be the selection of the most favorable and highest quality contractor, with full control by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Preparatory work could begin as early as the second half of the year, and the financial construction is almost complete thanks to European Union grants and soft loans.
When it comes to other infrastructure projects, this year it is realistic to talk about the Jaz-Tivat boulevard and the Budva bypass. A resolution regarding the airport concessions is also expected in early June.
The second section of the Montenegrin motorway Mateševo-Andrijevica, 21 kilometers long, will take five years and around 550 million euros, and ten companies applied for its construction in the recently completed tender.
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When asked how she comments on the fact that only one company from Europe was among the applicants, the Minister of Transport said that the call was open to everyone, and that everyone could apply.
"I think we can be satisfied with these ten submitted bids and I believe that the contractor should be chosen from among them, because Montenegro's priority is of course to continue this most important infrastructure project. Monteput and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are in charge of this tender. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development must approve each phase of the tender in order to proceed further, and in the end, they will together select the contractor for the second phase of the highway. If they do not meet the technical requirements, they will not be able to be evaluated in financial terms," said Vukićević in an interview with Television Vijesti.
The best offer should be selected during the summer, after which preparatory work on this section could probably begin in the second half of the year.
"That is what we received as a timeframe from Monteput and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. I hope that they will manage to fulfill what they provided us with as a projection," said Vukićević.
The Ministry of Transport believes that there will be no problems when it comes to finances.
"100 million in grants have already been secured from the European Commission. The approval process is underway with an additional 50. This should be finalized in the coming days. As I said, 200 million in soft loans have been secured from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The contract should be signed in July, and the rest will have to be financed from the budget," said Vukićević.
When it comes to preparatory works, expropriation has been completed in 80 percent of the route to Trešnjevik, while the completion of the remaining parts is expected by the time the contractor is introduced to the work.
A public hearing on the environmental impact study is currently underway, and will also be held in the municipalities most affected by the project – Kolašin and Andrijevica.
"We certainly haven't forgotten about the interchange. I have had several meetings with the presidents of interested municipalities and you know my colleagues in parliament who initiated the issue of the interchange in Bilo Polje. After that, we held a meeting here at the ministry. I think everyone can be satisfied with the way it was all resolved," said Vukićević.
While the road infrastructure in the north is being somewhat improved, on the coast, traffic jams are still a daily occurrence. Of the many highways and expressways announced by the Prime Minister at the beginning of the year, only two projects are certain to be completed this year, apart from the second section of the highway.
The Tivat - Jaz section, for which Vukićević recalls that work began without a valid construction permit, which, he states, was a serious omission by the previous government.
However, he believes that the work will be completed by January 2026.
"I can say that in the last few months we have increased the dynamics, that a good part of the route is now completed. The plan is to continue working during the summer, but to ensure the way traffic flows, so that there are no crowds like there have been so far," said Vukićević.
On the other hand, the conditions have been created for the Budva bypass project to launch a tender for a contractor, which is expected after the adoption of the budget rebalance. The length of the route will be about 9,3 km, and the Ministry hopes that construction will begin in 2026.
"We expect the budget rebalance to be completed soon, we expected it to be completed by now, as far as my colleagues from Monteput informed me, it will take them about a month after the rebalance to prepare the tender. This is an extremely important project, the Budva bypass has been talked about for ten years, and now the conditions have been created to start with this project," said Vukićević.
In parallel with the consideration of the highway bids, the evaluation of the concession bids for Montenegrin airports is underway.
Two companies have applied, and a final decision is expected by June 9th.
"We still haven't reached, let me say, the most interesting part, which is mostly finances, so I can't fully say what the quality of the winning bids is. What remains as an obligation is at least 100 million of that one-time concession fee. I must honestly say that I hope it will be a larger amount, because I believe that this amount is not enough for both Montenegrin airports," said the minister.
According to her, the state plans to maintain some form of control, through a special expert body that will monitor compliance with the concession agreement.
Special attention has been paid to the protection of workers, so they will be guaranteed job security for a period of at least five years.
And the minister also says that she is ready to discuss this issue in parliament.
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