The highway "Ibrahim Rugova" is soon extended to Nis

Competent authorities in Pristina have expressed readiness for continuing construction of the rest of the Pristina highway Merdare '% Nis. This highway is the continuation of the Durres regional project, Pristina, Nis.

This highway on Kosovo territory is known as “Ibrahim Rugova” and until this stage the works have been completed until Besi, the village that is located in Pristina's artorellustrallé.

Meanwhile, works remain to be done at about 26.8km of unfinished until Merdare, bordering Serbia.

This highway was initially a project connecting Kosovo and Albania, known as the “Road of the Nation”. But, meanwhile, it was also supported by the European Union as a joint road and railway infrastructure project for the Western Balkans.

The Ministry of Infrastructure, in the Government of Kosovo, has already selected a consultant company for drafting the project, which has started this month and will last 14 months, the Ministry for Free Radio says in an answer to this ministry for Free Europe.

The consulting company has conducted the study of several alternatives to the future Bessie Merdare Highway. These alternatives to this corridor have been assessed under a mechanization consisting of technical, financial, social, environmental and security criteria, and on the basis of the findings, the final report, with the most favourable version, which has been adopted by the Ministry of Infrastructure”, is said in response.

Even, Serbia's President Aleksandar Vuciq, under this project, has inaugurated the first segmentation of the Nis-Pristina highway 10 days ago.

The European Union's project for the construction of the highway that will connect Albania, Kosovo and Serbia, for representatives of the business community is seen as one of the best opportunities to be used for regional co-operation in the field of infrastructure and economy.

German Economic Ode Board Chairman Fadil Hoxha told Radio Free Europe that improving road infrastructure helps facilitate the circulation of Kosovo products abroad and vice versa.

“Infrastructural projects with countries in the region, I can say they are the arteries of the economy. As Kosovo has already signed the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, (MSA) and our products should find their way to the European market. So, it would be welcome to lock up Nis and the highway so that our products can be exported to Europe”, Hoxha said.

The European Union, in March 2015, following an interministerial conference of six Balkan countries held in Pristina, has pledged to invest up to 1 billion euros in joint road and railway infrastructure projects in the Western Balkans.

Otherwise, in the basic network of the Western Balkans, projects that are mentioned to be based, in addition to the highway connecting Serbia, Kosovo and Albania, there are railway lines in the Balkans and to the support of joint energy projects. /rel