June 26 (SeeNews) - Montenegro has completed 89% of all construction works on the Smokovac-Matesevo section of a planned motorway which will link the port city of Bar to the border with Serbia, the government said.
The breakthrough of all 16 tunnels along the section has been completed and the construction of bridges has been completed at 91%, the government said in a statement on Thursday.
The government is preparing the construction of the Matesevo - Andrijevica and Smokovac - Farmaci sections of the motorway under a public-private partnership model, it said.
In November 2018, the Montenegrin government applied for a 54.6 million euro ($61.3 million) loan for the construction of the Matesevo - Andrijevica section, which represents 20% of the total project cost. An additional 20% will be secured through a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with the remaining 60% to be provided by private partners.
The Smokovac-Metesevo is built by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). The original deadline for the completion of the project is September 30 but according to Montenegrin media reports, the Chinese company applied last month for its extension due to the coronavirus crisis. A total of 1,080 workers were hired for the execution of the project, including 460 Chinese citizens.
($ =0.8982 euro)