Belgrade–Bar motorway
Belgrade–Bar Motorway | |
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Аутопут Београд - Бар Autoput Beograd - Bar | |
Route information | |
Length | 445 km (277 mi) Planned length |
Major junctions | |
From | Belgrade |
To | Bar |
Location | |
Countries | Serbia, Montenegro |
Major cities | Belgrade, Obrenovac, Čačak, Požega, Berane, Podgorica, Bar |
Highway system | |
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Belgrade–Bar motorway (
From the Serbian side, the road's construction started in 2012 on a 40.3 kilometers-long section Ljig—Preljina on northern part of the route, which was put into service in 2016. From the Montenegrin side, the road's construction began on May 11, 2015.[1]
The project became the subject of controversy in 2021 after revelations that loan agreements between China and Montenegro to finance the project had been the result of corruption, and that the terms of the agreement made it unrealistic that Montenegro would be able to meet its obligations under the deal.[2][3]
Serbian section
As the
Route description
Serbian section of the motorway can be roughly divided into two sections: Belgrade to
The section of the road between Belgrade and Požega is 151.63 kilometers long and it will pass through the Serbian towns and municipalities of
The southern section of the road from Požega to Boljare will cost at least 1.5 billion euros, for approximately 110 km (68 mi). The exact route of this section has not yet been determined.[4]
Current progress
In Serbia, efforts to start the construction of the 146.37 km (90.95 mi) long section between Belgrade and Požega began in 2008, when a concession contract was signed with Alpine Mayreder and FCC Construction. Yet, Alpine and the Government of Serbia agreed to cancel the contract in August 2008.
In 2010, consortium of Serbian construction companies won the bidding for building of 12,5 km section between
Section Preljina—Požega, A.K.A. E763, is a section which is currently under construction. It will be 30.9 kilometres long. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2021. When completed, it will feature six kilometres of bridges, and six kilometres of tunnels. This also means that one third of the section will be tunnels and bridges. Interesting to know, tunnel "Laz" with its 2.850 meters length, will become the longest tunnel in Serbia.
The last section of A2 motorway is a section from Požega to border with Montenegro near Boljare. This section will be more than 100 kilometers long, and the exact route is still to be determined.
Montenegrin section
The Montenegrin part of motorway is known as the Bar-Boljare motorway. It will be 165 km long, and by far the most expensive one, with an estimated cost of around 2 billion euros. The rugged mountainous terrain is an engineering challenge, with 50 tunnels and 95 bridges and viaducts planned along the section.[5]
Route description
The Montenegrin part is to be built in three phases:
- (, are suggesting that this section should be built first, as it will likely have the highest traffic volume following completion. The planned length of this section is 51 km.
- (Podgorica) Smokovac – Bioče – Pelev Brijeg – Lijeva Rijeka – Veruša – Mateševo: this middle section of the motorway is considered a priority, because of its significance as a link between Podgorica and northern Montenegro. The current road link (E65), carved into the Morača canyon, is a curvy mountainous road, considered dangerous during the winter, and is a bottleneck in Montenegrin road network. Thus, building this section first is a requirement in bidding documents presented by the Montenegrin Government. This section will have a length of 41 km, and is by far the most expensive section of the motorway, with a cost per kilometer of motorway estimated to be higher than €20 million.
- Mateševo – Andrijevica – Berane – Crnča – Boljare: this northernmost section of the motorway is likely to be completed only after progress is made on the Serbian section of the motorway south of Požega. The planned length of this section is 73 km.
Current progress
The project is currently in
The bidding offers were reviewed in March 2009, and the top bid came from the Croatian consortium, led by the company of Konstruktor. This was followed by signing of contract document, and announcing of the beginning of construction works in June 2009. The official construction works opening ceremony happened on October 15, 2009, in the village of Gornje Mrke north of Podgorica, attended by the Prime Ministers of Montenegro (Milo Đukanović), Serbia (Mirko Cvetković) and Croatia (Jadranka Kosor). However, the Croatian consortium failed to provide necessary bank guarantees in a timely manner, so the contract was cancelled eight months later.
The second best rated bidder, a consortium of the Greek company Aktor and the Israeli company Shikun & Binui was called in for negotiations by the Government. After negotiations, it was agreed that Aktor/HCH consortium builds two southern sections of the motorway for a price of 1.575 billion euro.[6] The third and the northernmost section, from Mateševo to Boljare, as well as the small strip across the Lake Skadar, were to be the subject of further negotiations. However, the Greek-Israeli consortium also failed to provide bank guarantees, so the negotiations between the consortium and the Government of Montenegro were ended in December 2010.
The Government of Montenegro began to explore financing options for motorway construction, including negotiations with Chinese investors. The possibility of
In April 2013, discussions were still under way between the Montenegrin government and Chinese parties[7] and an offer of US$1bn of financing by EXIM bank and the selection of a preferred construction consortium was announced in July 2013[8] and with detailed commercial negotiations underway since.
In December 2014, negotiations with Chinese partners had successfully concluded.
In May 2015, works on first section in Montenegro, Smokovac–Uvač–Mateševo had started, expected to finish within 48 months.[1] After 48 months of building, the motorway was not finished due to terrain, and was further slowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but after seven years of construction, the first section was completed. It was not opened for vehicles because of the reconstruction of regional road R-13 due to the amount of workers commuting to the motorway for its construction. Reconstruction included widening, safety improvements, asphalt paving, and a new bridge near Mateševo, was completed in October 2022.
References
- ^ a b "Počela izgradnja autoputa". Autoput Bar Boljare. 13 May 2015. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
- ^ Schmitz, Rob. "Road Deal With China Is Blamed For Catapulting Montenegro Into Historic Debt". NPR. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- Washington Post. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ "PROJEKAT VREDAN 1,6 MILIJARDI EVRA Ovako će izgledati auto-put od Požege do CRNE GORE (VIDEO)". Blic. 10 May 2017.
- ^ "Koncesioni ugovor za autoput od Bara do Boljara za mjesec dana?" (in Montenegrin). April 29, 2009. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011.
- ^ Iskra Pavlova (May 11, 2010). "Montenegro Accepts 1.575 Bln Euro Motorway Construction Bid of Greek-Israeli Aktor/HCH Tie-in". SEE News.
- ^ "China's Ex-Im Bank may offer preferential loan for Bar-Boljare road project". 10 April 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ "Chinese firms win European motorway project: Montenegro". 12 July 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
External links
- Draft of the Detailed Spatial Plan of Bar - Boljare Motorway - Montenegrin language only
- Autoput Bar Boljare, news portal devoted to the road