Filip Radulović, Minister of Transport and Maritime Affairs of Montenegro - In the construction of 480 km of highways and high-speed roads, a planned investment of EUR 8 billion, multimillion-dollar investments in railways as well

The commitment of the Ministry to the implementation of large infrastructure projects is also evident in the fact that in just the first four months of this year, public invitations were issued for the development of five conceptual solutions for highways and high-speed roads - the conceptual solution for the crossing of the Bar-Boljara highway and the Adriatic-Ionian highway, the conceptual solution for crossing the Boka Kotorska bay, conceptual design of the highway Andrijevica border with Kosovo, conceptual design of the high-speed way Crnča-Pljevlja-Granica with BiH and conceptual design of the high-speed way Danilovgrad-Nikšić and for the conceptual design of the highway Andrijevica-Boljare.

Also, I must point out that in the previous period several hundreds of kilometers of main and regional roads were built, reconstructed and modernized, which created the conditions for higher quality, more comfortable, more economical and safer traffic and therefore better connectivity and road accessibility in Montenegro. Thus, this year, it is planned to continue or start the construction or reconstruction of approximately 230 km of regional and main roads, namely: 120 km in the northern region, 75 km in the central region and 36 km in the coastal region. In addition to the construction of the highway, the most significant and therefore the most expensive projects are the reconstruction of the road Rožaje-Špiljane, the reconstruction of the road Lepenac-Ribarevine-Berane, the reconstruction of the road Bijelo Polje-border with Serbia, the construction of the Tivat-Jaz boulevard, the construction of the road Cetinje-Čevo, the construction of the road interchange Veruša-Lopate, construction of the western bypass Podgorica, a new bridge over the river Tara in the locality of Šćepan Polje, a bridge over the river Bojana....

The initial step towards the realization of this project was made in 2008 when the Spanish company Inocsa Ingenieria S.L prepared a preliminary solution, study and spatial planning documents for the regional railway Čapljina-Trebinje-Nikšić. The analysis carried out contains three scenarios, of which the most optimal solution is the scenario that proposes the construction of a single-track railway (such as the railway from Nikšić to Podgorica), where the construction costs of 57 km through Montenegro would amount to EUR 180 million, while it would be necessary to provide EUR 630 million for the part through BiH. Given that the projections are from 2008, it would be necessary to make a new calculation of all elements in this part.

- Bearing in mind the terrain conditions, i.e. the geographical area through which the railway passes, it is clear that the service life of this railway is significantly shorter compared to the railways that pass through the plains, so that in addition to regular maintenance, considerable funds are necessary to improve its regional importance. Due to the exploitation of the railway, over time there was a reduction in speed, in order to preserve the necessary level of safety, which made it less competitive, both for the transport of passengers and for the transport of goods. By renovating the railway, i.e. increasing speeds and comfort, we want to attract a larger number of passengers, as well as users of freight transport services by rail, i.e. create better conditions for the development of international traffic.