Bechtel and its joint-venture partner Enka completed Kosovo's Route 7 Motorway in record time. The 63.4-mile (102-kilometer) dual-carriage highway extends from Morinë, at the southwest border with Albania, to the north of Kosovo’s capital, Pristina. Route 7 serves as the centerpiece of the country’s national transport system, helping to promote trade and economic development in Kosovo and throughout the region as the trade route contributes to the economic integration of the countries of southeastern Europe, Western Europe, and beyond.
Alternative approach saves time and money
The Bechtel team delivered the motorway while maintaining a high level of safety and quality. The motorway traverses mountainous terrain and has 11 bridges, four interchanges and 22 overpasses and underpasses. Before construction began in 2010, the team proposed a plan that included an alternative alignment for the motorway. The new alignment eliminated more than 3 miles (nearly 5 kilometers) of costly tunnels, saving time and hundreds of millions of euros for the government.
A history of success in the region
Bechtel and Enka have successfully delivered several major projects in the region, including motorways in Albania, Croatia, and Turkey. Together, the team has completed
- More than 17,000 miles (28,000 kilometers) of highways and roads
- 100 tunnels totaling 217.5 miles (350 kilometers) in length
- 25 major bridge projects
- 3 power plants
Boosting the local economy
The project contributed greatly to the region's economic development. Our team worked to procure goods with local content, hire local subcontractors, and directly employ the people of Kosovo.
The project hired a workforce that included 70 percent local Kosovars. Further, some 80 local contractors and hundreds of local suppliers worked on the project. Over the course of construction, more than 10,000 Kosovars received training that provided them new skills that they can use in future jobs.
Safety first
Bechtel and its partner Enka, together with the Kosovo government, launched a safety campaign along the Kosovo Motorway with the slogan “Yes to Safety, No to Speed.” The week-long campaign covered the entire route and encouraged responsible driving.
Awards for excellence
The Bechtel-Enka team earned two prestigious honors for its work on the Kosovo motorway. We won a Global Best Projects Award from Engineering News-Record magazine as well as the Program Management Award in the International Road Federation’s Global Road Achievement Awards program.