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Montenegro's highway of the century or road to nowhere?

Montenegro's ambitious highway project fuels debate about Chinese influence in Europe

Safety billboards at the Bar-Boljare Highway construction site. A Chinese loan for the project's first phase has sent Montenegro's debt soaring and forced the government to raise taxes and partially freeze public sector wages.
Huge cement pillars towering above Montenegro’s picturesque Moraca River canyon. A state-of-the-art highway is being built through some of the roughest terrain in southern Europe. PHOTOS: REUTERS
A view of the "Vjeternik" tunnel construction site of the Bar-Boljare Highway. Imposing bridges and deep-cut tunnels are among the features of the project, described by one EU critic as a highway to nowhere. A tunnel construction site of the 165km Ba
A tunnel construction site of the 165km Bar-Boljare Highway project. The first part, a challenging 41-km stretch through mountains north of the capital, is expected to be completed by late next year. PHOTOS: REUTERS
A view of the "Vjeternik" tunnel construction site of the Bar-Boljare Highway. Imposing bridges and deep-cut tunnels are among the features of the project, described by one EU critic as a highway to nowhere. A tunnel construction site of the 165km Ba
A view of the “Vjeternik” tunnel construction site of the Bar-Boljare Highway. Imposing bridges and deep-cut tunnels are among the features of the project, described by one EU critic as a highway to nowhere. PHOTOS: REUTERS
A view of the "Vjeternik" tunnel construction site of the Bar-Boljare Highway. Imposing bridges and deep-cut tunnels are among the features of the project, described by one EU critic as a highway to nowhere. A tunnel construction site of the 165km Ba
A worker at the “Vjeternik” tunnel site of the Bar-Boljare Highway, being built with a Chinese loan. Critics say Montenegro could be attractive to China for reasons including giving it a port of entry into Europe from the Adriatic. PHOTOS: REUTERS
A view of the "Vjeternik" tunnel construction site of the Bar-Boljare Highway. Imposing bridges and deep-cut tunnels are among the features of the project, described by one EU critic as a highway to nowhere. A tunnel construction site of the 165km Ba
Safety billboards at the Bar-Boljare Highway construction site. A Chinese loan for the project’s first phase has sent Montenegro’s debt soaring and forced the government to raise taxes and partially freeze public sector wages. PHOTOS: REUTERS
A view of the "Vjeternik" tunnel construction site of the Bar-Boljare Highway. Imposing bridges and deep-cut tunnels are among the features of the project, described by one EU critic as a highway to nowhere. A tunnel construction site of the 165km Ba
Montenegro has described its Bar-Boljare Highway project as a pathway to the modern world. The highway is designed to link the port of Bar on Montenegro’s Adriatic coast to its landlocked neighbour Serbia. PHOTOS: REUTERS
Updated
Oct 25, 2018, 03:49 PM
Published
Jul 24, 2018, 05:00 AM
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PODGORICA (Montenegro) • Perched atop massive cement pillars that tower above Montenegro's picturesque Moraca River canyon, scores of Chinese workers are building a state-of-the-art highway through some of the roughest terrain in southern Europe.

The government has described the 165km Bar-Boljare Highway, with its imposing bridges and deep-cut tunnels, as the construction project of the century and a pathway to the modern world.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 24, 2018, with the headline Montenegro's highway of the century or road to nowhere?. Subscribe

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MCI (P) 066/10/2023. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. Copyright © 2024 SPH Media Limited. All rights reserved.

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