Belgrade–Bar motorway


Belgrade–Bar motorway, is a future motorway in Serbia and Montenegro. The motorway will connect the Serbian capital of Belgrade and Bar, Montenegro's main seaport. Italy, Montenegro and Serbia are lobbying to list the route with Pan-European corridors, and it is frequently referred to as part of proposed Corridor XI, or 4B – an envisioned ferry/motorway corridor linking Bari, Bar, Belgrade and Bucharest.
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.

Serbian section

As the A1 motorway towards Skopje at the European route E75 approached completion in late 2010s, public attention has shifted towards the future highway connecting the Belgrade with Montenegro, designated as A2. The motorway is envisioned as a local link as much as a transit link, connecting southwestern Serbia with Belgrade and the European road network.

Route description

Serbian section of the motorway can be roughly divided into two sections: Belgrade to Požega and Požega to Boljare, at the state border of Serbia and Montenegro.
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 Ostružnica, Umka, Obrenovac, Ub, Lajkovac, Ljig, Takovo, Preljina and Požega. Total worth of the Belgrade–Preljina section is estimated to be at 889.8 million euros, and because of favorable terrain it will be the cheapest section of the motorway.
The southern section of the road from Požega to Boljare will cost at least 1.5 billion euros, for approximately. The exact route of this section has not yet been determined.

Current progress

In Serbia, efforts to start the construction of the long section between Belgrade and Požega began in 2008, when a concession contract was signed with 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 Ub and Lajkovac. On July 30, 2010, the work began and the construction is still underway.
In August 2019 complete section of 103 km from Obrenovac to Preljina was open to traffic. Section from Obrenovac to Surčin should be done by the end of 2019 and connection from New Belgrade to Surčin by 2022.
Section Preljina—Požega is section in construction. 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 being chosen.

Montenegrin section

The Montenegrin part of motorway is known as the Bar-Boljare motorway. It will be 164 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.

Route description

The Montenegrin part is to be built in three phases:
The project is currently in construction bidding phase, and is devised as a public-private partnership. A general contractor that signs the contract with the Government of Montenegro is to finance the construction of the motorway, and conduct maintenance and collect toll fees and other incomes for a period of 30 years after completion. During that 30-year period, Government of Montenegro will pay off its share of financing through annuities.
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, Serbia and Croatia. 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. 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 China Road and Bridge Group and China Poly Group Corporation building the road, with the financial backing of Exim Bank of China, is now mentioned in the Montenegrin media. In January 2011, the Montenegrin Minister of Transportation has sent an official letter of invitation to the Poly Group, and the negotiations are currently underway. If the negotiations come through, the terms of building and financing will be established via treaty, thus avoiding the bidding process and discarding the public-private partnership option.
In April 2013 discussions were still under way between the Montenegrin government and Chinese parties and an offer of US$1bn of financing by EXIM bank and the selection of a preferred construction consortium was announced in July 2013 and with detailed commercial negotiations underway since.
In December 2014 negotiations with Chinese partners have successfully concluded.
In May 2015 works on first section in Montenegro, Smokovac–Uvač–Mateševo have started, expected to finish within 48 months.