Mašić: The bypass will shorten the journey from Markovići to Lastva Grbaljska from half an hour to six minutes

The nine-kilometer bypass around Budva will be built over four years, and the estimated cost per kilometer is around 22 million euros, said Miroslav Mašić from the Ministry of Transport, speaking on TV Vijesti's "Colors of the Morning".

"The public call for tenders gave an estimated net value of 196 million, and given this length, it is a little more than 22 million euros. However, we will know the true value when we select the best and most favorable bidder. We expect that there will be a large number of interested contractors who will apply for this tender and that the competition among them will lower this price. However, in recent years, we have witnessed a significant jump in the construction market for the cost of works, both in road construction and in other areas, due to various prices for material costs, labor costs and other inputs that affect the cost of construction itself, and what is also important is that the configuration of the terrain itself, this part, this section of the expressway, is such that it is technically very demanding, and therefore more expensive, perhaps compared to some projects that we have in the region. However, what is important is that our entire expressway road network is going through such a configuration that the price per kilometer will be close to this amount," he said.

Of the 8 kilometers of the bypass itself, 4,4 km are tunnels, and 1,4 km will have four bridges, the longest of which is 510 meters long.

"We have two interchanges, the Lastva Grbaljska interchange and the Markovići interchange, and a lot of supporting structures, so we can say that 73 percent of the entire length of the route is under buildings, tunnels and bridges. So from that point of view, the route itself is constructionally, technically demanding, of course feasible. In addition, we also have a planned base for the maintenance of this section, which will be built at location 5, Lastva Grbaljska," said Mašić.

There are no facilities on the route, so a quick expropriation is expected, for which 20 million euros are planned. The entire construction cost, around 196 million euros, will be provided through the capital budget.

"By building this road, we will shorten the travel time from the current half an hour in regular conditions, 22 km from Markovići to Lastva Grbaljska, to 9 km, or a 6-minute drive. This will increase traffic safety in that location," Mašić pointed out.