On June 26, 2026, the groundbreaking ceremony for the section of the Montenegrin North South Expressway from Mateshevo to Andryevica was held in Kolasin city. Montenegrin President Miratovi ć, Prime Minister Spai ć, and Chinese Ambassador to Montenegro Chen Xufeng attended together. This 22 kilometer new road section is being constructed by a Chinese joint venture led by POWER CHINA, with a total amount of approximately 694 million euros. It is currently the largest infrastructure project in Montenegro.

As the core passage that runs through the north and south of Montenegro, this highway starts from the coastal city of Bar in the south and ends at Boliare on the border between Serbia and Montenegro in the north, with a total length of about 180 kilometers. The 41 kilometer priority section previously constructed by China Road and Bridge Corporation was opened to traffic in July 2022, with a cumulative traffic volume exceeding 10 million vehicles, and has already achieved tangible economic and social benefits.

Fill in the gaps in transportation in Montenegro

In the planning of the Montenegrin government, this highway is the core lever for improving the domestic transportation network. The newly started section directly connects the central and northern parts of Montenegro, and can also connect with neighboring countries to the north in the future, further connecting to the Central European connectivity line. In the past, the transportation in the northern mountainous areas of Montenegro was blocked, making it difficult for coastal tourist flows to reach inland areas smoothly. Local agricultural products and specialty processed goods could also not be transported out, and the regional development gap has been widening.

After the completion of this new road section, the most direct change is to connect the coastal tourism resources with the northern mountainous areas. Tourists no longer need to detour for several hours along the winding mountain road, and the cultural and tourism resources in the north can be directly connected to mature tourism routes. At the same time, it can also pave the way for local manufacturing and agriculture, reduce logistics costs, and support the transformation of the economy from a single tourism pillar to a diversified industry.

China black infrastructure cooperation has already been implemented in multiple areas

This highway is not the only cooperative project between the two countries. Previously, the restoration of the Tala River Bridge, the expansion of the M2 highway from Tivat to Budva, and the Morula wind power plant have all been put into operation, covering multiple fields such as transportation and energy. In recent years since the opening of the priority section, many villages and towns along the route have opened new homestays and specialty agricultural product stores, which have significantly improved the travel and income of local residents. Keywords: the Belt and Road, highway

The construction of this new section is equivalent to taking another step forward on the already operational cooperation model. The implementation of the 694 million euro project is not just about building a road, but also laying a solid hardware foundation for Montenegro's future access to regional transportation networks and integration with the Chinese and European markets.Editor/Cheng Liting