Construction of the 77km-long Merdare-Nis highway in Serbia is to benefit from external financing. A funding package worth €100 million is being supplied by the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the project. The funding will pay for work on a stretch of the route between Plocnik and Nis in southern Serbia. The highway will improve transport connections with neighbouring Kosovo when it is complete. This project forms part of a series of road building operations in the region, with extensive work having been carried out already in Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania.
Construction of the Serbia to Kosovo route also highlights the improving relations between the two countries. Improvements to highways in Kosovo include work to the section from the border to the country’s capital, Pristina. A highway from Pristina to the border with Albania opened to traffic some years ago following its construction by the Bechtel Enka partnership, which also built the highway running to Albania’s capital, Tirana.
Serbia is also planning to build a highway that links with the Corridor X and Corridor XI routes. A 110km highway will connect the towns of Krusevac and Cacak, with construction due to commence in the third quarter of 2019. US contractor Bechtel will also head this project, which is worth €800 million.
