![]() ![]() The first instalment on a $1 billion loan from China's state bank is due this month but it's unclear whether Montenegro, whose debt has soared to more than double its GDP because of the project, will be able to pay it back.Ī copy of the loan contract reviewed by NPR shows that if Montenegro misses the deadline, Beijing has the right to seize land inside the country - as long as it doesn't belong to the military or is used for diplomatic purposes. Perched atop massive cement pillars that tower above Montenegro's picturesque Moraca river canyon is an incomplete highway that threatens to bankrupt the little Balkan nation.Ĭhina Road and Bridge Corporation, the state-owned company which is building the bridge with imported Chinese workers, has not yet finished constructing the first section of the 270-mile highway to the Serbian capital Belgrade. A copy of the loan contract reviewed by NPR shows that if Montenegro misses the deadline, Beijing has the right to seize land inside the country - as long as it doesn't belong to the military or is used for diplomatic purposes.The first instalment on a $1 billion loan from China's state bank is due this month but it's unclear whether Montenegro, whose debt has soared to more than double its GDP because of the project, will be able to pay it back.China Road and Bridge Corporation, the state-owned company which is building the bridge with imported Chinese workers, has not yet finished constructing the first section of the 270-mile highway to the Serbian capital Belgrade.Extraction of gravel from the river bed was observed at some places along the river corridor. Although the majority of those negative impacts could be addressed after the final works on the highway construction, it is clear that some impacts will be visible also after the conclusion of the works. ![]() The area is dumped with trash and deposited materials also beyond the construction site. Several temporary deposition areas, gravel storage areas, ramps, and even gravel out-take areas were observed by the mission in the wider floodplain area and river bed. The floodplain river is transformed into strictly regulated river with a determined channel, which will drastically alter the ecological character of this river section. Floodplains will be reduced and remaining parts will become low-biodiversity value area, while the core biodiversity values and characteristic habitat features for floodplains (riffles, shallow pools, temporarily flooded areas etc.) will be lost. The project foresees that the former area of floodplains, where Tara River shifted its course every season in the wide floodplain terrain, will be transferred into an artificially planted forest. If the floodplain area would not be built up, no river regulation works would be needed (including up- and downstream of the section) and the impacts on the riverine ecology would be lower.īesides the fact that the project foresees the replacement of the floodplain area under and besides the bridge, the mission observed that the construction works are being implemented without safeguards for the riverine environment. Floodplain character of the torrent-type river is essential to maintain the ecological values of the Tara River, together with its biodiversity, especially fish fauna. This, as a consequence, destroys the floodplain character of the Tara River in this section. ![]() By urbanising the space in the wide river floodplain, support infrastructure for the motorway and typical major bed embankments in the form of intensive river regulation, were applied. The main negative impact of the agreed solution lies in the fact that the location of the ramps and deviations to and from the motorway route, together with the pay-toll object, are located in the heart of the floodplain area of the Tara River. ![]() From the reflections gained in the field, the mission is of the view that a less impactful variation of the route could have been identified. The mission was informed that at least 20 different variations of the route for the motorway were presented and discussed in the process of granting the permission. The construction works are currently in progress for which the river course has been heavily altered from a braided river, stretching across the floodplain, to an artificially straightened river. ![]()
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