May 17 (SeeNews) - Montenegro hopes to open the Smokovac-Matesevo section of a motorway linking the port city of Bar to the Serbian border in July, capital investments minister Ervin Ibrahimovic said.
"We will open the section in the next 50 days. Over 99.5% of the works have been completed and there is only a little left, but I cannot specify the exact date," Ibrahimovic said in a video file posted on the website of public broadcaster RTCG on Monday.
The biggest obstacle is the installation of electrical and mechanical equipment, he noted.
"If this is successfully resolved in the next 15 to 20 days, we can say that we may drive along thehighway from Smokovac to Matesevo as early as the beginning of July," Ibrahimovic added.
In March, former economy minister Jakov Milatovic said the government plans to open for traffic the Smokovac-Matesevo section in May.
The Smokovac-Metesevo section featuring 18 tunnels, 13 bridges, five viaducts, and four interchanges, is being built by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). The original deadline for the completion of the project was September but according to Montenegrin media reports, the Chinese company has requested an extension due to the coronavirus crisis. A total of 1,080 workers were hired for works on the project, including 460 Chinese citizens.