Montenegro inks agreement with China's CRBC on highway construction from Bar to Serbian border

The Montenegrin government and the Chinese company CRBC have signed an agreement on the design and construction of the first stretch of the highway between Bar and the Serbian border, Transportation Minister Ivan Brajovic confirmed Saturday.

At an extraordinary press conference in Podgorica, Brajovic did not want to specify the start date for the construction of the priority stretch from Podgorica to Matesevo which is 42 kilometers long.

He voiced his expectation that the complete process involving the road construction funding agreement with China's state-owned Exim Bank and the obligation to adopt a highway law would be finished by the spring.

The Government said earlier that the Chinese offered to build the first stretch from Podgorica to Matesevo for EUR 809 million. The costs of construction would be financed with the proceeds of a loan extended by the Chinese bank with a repayment period of 20 years.

Montenegro should co-finance the construction of the first stretch with EUR 121 million. The total length of the highway is 169 kilometers.

For many years the Montenegrin government has been trying unsuccessfully to find a partner for its "largest infrastructure project" - the highway between Bar and the border with Serbia.