One of the most ambitious road projects in Montenegro — the Budva bypass road on the section Markovići – Lastva Grbaljska — is expected to be completed within four years after construction begins. As the director of the state-owned company Monteput Milan Ljaljić said, the project is exceptionally complex: more than 70% of the route will pass through tunnels and bridges.
“This is an extremely complex engineering project, because due to the mountainous terrain above Budva, more than 70% of the route consists of tunnels and bridge structures,” Ljaljić said on the program Link on RTCG television.
According to him, the importance of this project for the south of the country is no less than that of the key section of the Bar – Boljare motorway.
“If the motorway strengthened connections between the northern regions, the bypass will solve one of the most acute problems of the coast — constant summer traffic jams,” the director of Monteput emphasized.
The first phase of the coastal expressway
The section Markovići – Lastva Grbaljska, about 8 kilometers long, will become the first stage of construction of the expressway along the Montenegrin coast — the future Adriatic-Ionian corridor, which will connect Montenegro with Croatia near Igalo.
According to Monteput’s technical documentation, the project includes:
- construction of four bridges with a total length of 1.4 km,
- and two twin-bore tunnels, with a length of more than 4.3 km.
Thus, two-thirds of the entire route will pass through engineering structures — making this the technically most complex project of road infrastructure on the Montenegrin coast.
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Investments of nearly 200 million euros
The total cost of the works is estimated at 196.27 million euros excluding VAT. The project is being implemented under the design & build model, which will speed up the process and minimize bureaucratic stages.
The tender for selecting the contractor was published on October 14, 2025, and the completion period is 48 months. If the procurement procedure proceeds without delays, Budva could get a new bypass road by the end of 2029.
The cost includes the development of the main design, construction works, and technical supervision. An additional about 20 million euros is allocated for land expropriation.
A video projection of the future Adriatic-Ionian highway, including the Budva bypass road, has been published:
https://youtu.be/cQPHtR7eFnw?si=ourvdvV9tC5PmA_u
New road — a solution for the congested coast
Monteput is confident that the new route will significantly relieve the existing coastal highway, which remains the most congested part of the country’s road network during the summer season.
Thanks to the bypass road:
- traffic will become faster and safer,
- the level of air pollution in the center of Budva will decrease,
- access for tourists to the resorts of Boka and the central coast will improve.
The new infrastructure will create conditions for sustainable transport development of the region and strengthen economic ties between the north and south of the country.
A key element of the Adriatic-Ionian corridor
The bypass road is not just a local project, but a key link in the international transport network that will unite the Bay of Kotor, Budva, Bar, and Ulcinj.
The implementation of this project will make Montenegro an integral part of the Adriatic-Ionian corridor and one of the strategic transport hubs of Southeast Europe.
As Milan Ljaljić noted, Monteput considers the construction of the bypass a priority:
“This is not only an investment in infrastructure, but also in the future of Budva, the entire coastal zone, and the tourism industry of Montenegro”.