This small landlocked European country has big plans to build a new £32bn motorway. (Image: Getty)
The small landlocked country of is currently building an impressive 70-mile , the Morava Corridor (A5 motorway), which is set to revolutionise transport connectivity in the region. Beyond this, it also hopes to usher in communication improvements and resilience.
When finished, it will stretch from Pojate, north of Kruševac, and run westward to Preljina near Čačak, where it will intersect with the A2 motorway. About 124 miles south of the capital, Belgrade, it will mostly pass through the West Morava Valley, benefitting some 760,000 inhabitants. It will not have any tunnels, but some 78 bridges have been planned on the , the longest stretching for 717 metres.
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The motorway lies about 124 miles south of Serbia’s capital, Belgrade. (Image: Getty)
The construction started in December 2019 with the main contractor Bechtel. The first section opened in the spring of 2023 and gave the local community a glimpse of the benefits that will come when the whole 70-mile motorway opens this year.
The east-west route will also create better transport links with its neighbours, Hungary and and bring investment to the region with three new government-planned industrial zones.
Bechtel and Enka’s (BEJV) work for Serbia’s Ministry of Construction, Transport and also involves river regulation work to protect the new motorway from flooding and improve resilience for the local communities.
The route will deliver connection improvements beyond transport, with telecoms ducting for 5G fibre optic infrastructure built into the new road to serve the region.
Funding for the project has come from UK Export Finance – which provides support for overseas projects that source critical minerals for use in major UK industries – the World Bank and the Serbian Government, although BEJV project manager Vick Nayson says the full cost of the project has not yet been made public. This has not stopped projections being made, however.
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Aleksandar Vučić, the Serbian President described it as ‘the best highway in Serbia’. (Image: Getty)
According to , the Morava Corridor was originally contracted for 900 million euros (£743 million) but the revised budget in 2024 had risen to an eyewatering 38.7 billion (£32 billion).
Once open in 2025, the cost of the construction will be paid for by tolls.
At the opening event for a completed section last December, , the Serbian President, said: “This is the best highway in Serbia, and I am proud because it will mean more jobs and more investment for our country.”
“With each new section opening, the Morava Motorway is transforming lives for thousands of Serbians,” said Darren Mort, President of Bechtel’s Infrastructure business.
“As we’ve seen around the world, making travel safer and more efficient enhances wellbeing, boosts productivity and supports local economies. This milestone adds to what has been a very exciting year for the Bechtel-ENKA team, having recently won international awards on this project for environmental stewardship, global program management and financing.”