U.S. Bechtel, Turkish Enka To Start Building 800 Mln Euro Motorway in Kosovo This Month

The four-lane motorway will run from the border with Albania at Morine to north of Pristina and will give landlocked Kosovo access to the Adriatic Sea, Bechtel said in a statement late on Monday after the consortium and the government in Pristina signed the deal for the construction of the Morine-Merdar motorway.

The Bechtel-Enka joint venture will be responsible for design management, procurement, and construction of the 103-kilometre motorway.

"The motorway will be a key pillar in the development of the transportation infrastructure for Kosovo, providing access to international markets," Enka chairman Sinan Tara said.

Bechtel and Enka as joint venture partners have carried out infrastructure projects across Europe and Asia of more than 28,000 kilometers of highways and roads, 100 tunnels, and 25 major bridge projects.

Kosovo plans to finance about half of an 800 million euro ($1.086 billion) with international loans and the other half from the state budget, Reuters reported in January quoting Kosovo's Finance and Economy Minister Ahmet Shala.