PODGORICA (Montenegro), May 6 (SeeNews) – The China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) has applied for an extension of the deadline for the completion of the first section of the Bar-Boljare motorway in Montenegro due to the coronavirus crisis, a representative of state-run road operator Monteput has said.
"The Chinese contractor has already approached us as investors with a request for an extension of the deadline and additional payments for reasons they consider appropriate," the director of the Bar-Boljare motorway project management unit of Monteput, Goran Vujovic said in a video file posted on the website of public broadcaster RTCG on Tuesday.
The pace of construction works has slowed down on stretches 3 and 4 of the section, where Chinese citizens are predominantly employed, Vujovic said. "Some Chinese employees did not return to Montenegro, which is a problem," he added.
A total of 88% of construction works on the section have been completed so far, Vujovic added.
The deadline for the completion of Smokovac-Metesevo, the first section of the Bar-Boljare motorway, is September 30. A total of 1,080 workers were hired for the execution of the project and 460 are Chinese citizens.