Montenegrin state company Monteput has signed a significant contract with the Civil Engineering Institute from North Macedonia to develop a Conceptual design for a key section of the planned expressway connecting Herceg Novi to Budva, including a crucial crossing over the Bay of Kotor. The contract, valued at €175,329 including VAT, stipulates a five-month deadline for the completion of the design.
The project focuses on sections marked as numbers 9 and 10 on the planning map, with the objective of exploring alternative corridors for the expressway and integrating it into Montenegro’s broader road network. The proposed route starts in the Debeli Brijeg area, traverses the hinterland of Herceg Novi, reaches either Tivat or Kotor, and connects with a unified corridor from the Bratešići area towards Budva. A key aspect of the design process is the preservation of Kotor’s natural and cultural heritage, in compliance with world heritage standards, to ensure the area’s outstanding universal value remains intact.
This Conceptual design will play a critical role in determining the final location of the expressway corridor within Montenegro’s Spatial Plan, the country’s primary strategic planning document that guides national goals, regulations, and measures for spatial development, harmonising economic, social, ecological, and cultural-historical progress.
The Montenegrin government has prioritised five key development corridors: the Bar–Boljare highway, the Adriatic–Ionian highway, the expressway along the Montenegrin coast, the Bijelo Polje–Pljevlja–Bosnia and Herzegovina border expressway, and the Podgorica–Nikšić–Žabljak–Pljevlja expressway.
