Montenegrin Transport Infrastructure Trends And Development

Montenegrin road infrastructure is very important for the sustainable development of the country and the construction of new highways is considered a national priority. Due to challenging terrain and lack of funds, Montenegro has so far been the only country in the Balkans without a highway.

Most roads in Montenegro are two-lane roadways and there are a lot of  necessary reforms in this sector on its path towards a gradual integration process in the EU transport market. In recent years, roads connecting Podgorica and coastal cities have improved significantly with the completion of the Sozina tunnel, which shortened the journey from Podgorica to Bar and made the trip safer. The infrastructural projects in the country are constant and have the purpose to ensure that Montenegro roads become more accessible and in line with all the international standards.

So far the largest infrastructure in the country – The Bar-Boljare highway was planned to go across the entire country and to connect the underdeveloped North with the coast. It will run from the Adriatic port of Bar to Boljare, on Montenegro’s Northern border with Serbia and create a road link further with Eastern and Central Europe. It was envisioned to be 164 km long with 50 tunnels and 95 bridges and viaducts planned along the section. One part of the highway passes through the area of Tara River, protected by the UNESCO Convention as a world natural heritage.

The main contractors of the Bar-Boljare highway are the China Road and Bridge Corporation and it is financed by the China Eximbank. The investments in this road interconnection are in line with the EU accession priorities and are of national, regional and international significance for the Western Balkans.

Currently, European routes E65, E80, E762, E763 and E851 pass through Montenegro. Construction of Expressway along the Montenegrin coast as a Coastal option of the Adriatic-Ionian highway will include approximately 108 kilometres (with 4 ×3.25-m-wide traffic lanes and a calculated speed of 80 km/h) that will connect Croatia, Montenegro and Albania.

The backbone of the Montenegrin railway network is the Belgrade-Bar railway which connects Serbia’s capital with Montenegro’s main seaport – Bar. It was the largest and most expensive infrastructure project in the former Yugoslav federation. This line intersects with the Niksic-Tirana (Albania) line in Podgorica, but is not used to transport passengers. Montenegro has the highest railway bridge in Europe called the Mala Rijeka Viaduct. The total length of the Railway transport in Montenegro is 250 km (including 162 km electrified) and there are 121 tunnels, with a total length of almost 58 km. The railway transport in Montenegro is public and managed by government owned company „Željeznički prevoz Crne Gore AD — Podgorica“. European Investment Bank approved

Montenegro has two international airports, Podgorica Airport and Tivat Airport. Air Montenegro is the national airline of Montenegro. Tivat airport is an international airport located four kilometers from the center of Tivat on Kotor Bay and it is only seven kilometers from Kotor and 20 kilometers from Budva. There are daily flights from Tivat to Belgrade throughout the year, while all other flights are heavily concentrated in the summer period. Podgorica Airport is an international airport located in Golubovci, approximately 12 km south of  Montenegro’s capital city Podgorica. It has eight departure and two arrival gates, and can handle up to one million passengers per year. The  connections through Central and Western Europe are plentiful.

Some private jet services, as well as the Montenegrin charter airline use Podgorica and Tivat  airport.

The port of Bar is the main  and the largest Montenegrin port. Built in 1906, the port was almost completely destroyed during World War II, and its reconstruction began in 1950. Today, it is equipped to service 5 million tons of cargo per year. The company responsible for maritime traffic and other maritime activities is „Barska plovidba“ which is 51%-owned by the Government of Montenegro (18% government + 33% government funds) and 49%-owned by small private shareholders.

The ferries owned by this company operate on the Bar–Bari line (Montenegro–Italy) for more than 50 years and there is  also the established cooperation with the Croatian shipping company „Jadrolinija“.  The company performs its basic activity (maritime traffic) by transporting cargo with two bulk carrier ships, 36,000 dwt, named ‘Bar’ and ‘Budva’, as well as the transportation of passengers and vehicles between Montenegro and Italy on Bar–Bari line. Also, the company is the owner of a passenger terminal facility, located in the Port of Bar, in the corridor of important cargo and passenger flows (Budapest – Belgrade – Bar – Bari / Ancona). This modern facility provides passengers with complete service  contents on their voyage (restaurant, yachting club, post office, exchange office, forwarding agencies, etc.)

Budva, Kotor and Zelenika (Herceg Novi) have the status of ports for international transport. Furthermore Montenegro became a yacht lover paradise with its world class marinas such as Porto Montenegro marina in TIvat, Luštica Bay marina in Tivat, D-Marin Portonovi Marina in Herceg Novi, Dukley marina in Budva.