Download Kosovo Report - The European Times

KOSOVO
Transport & Communications
the Government’s Main Target Is
Infrastructure
route. For roads the routes in
question span 310 km and are
route 6 (Ribarevina in Montenegro
to Skopje in Macedonia) and route
7 (Lezhe in Albania to Doljevac
in Serbia) while for rail it lies on
route 10 (from Kraljevo in Serbia
to Gorce Petrov in Macedonia).
Consequently, the government has
made the development of route 6
and 7 a high priority as significant
transport arteries for the country
and the region connecting with
neighbouring capital cities.
While a recent Department of Road
Infrastructure (DRI) survey found
that 88% of primary roads and 74%
of the regional roads are in good
condition, there is still a significant
amount of investment needed to
upgrade the 8,000 km road network
in Kosovo. This includes the urban
transport network and infrastructure
which needs to meet the needs of a
growing population. In the period
2000-2005, €136 million was spent
on road infrastructure investments
and this looks set to increase in the
coming years. Indeed, in 2006 alone,
the government estimated that there
was a need for €70 million investment
in the road network. As the economy
grows, this is likely to become ever
more necessary with the motorisation
levels in the country rising from
their current levels of 105 passenger
cars per 1,000 persons towards the
EU average of 418 passenger cars per
1,000 persons.
However, the government is also
keen to ensure that the rail network
can meet the country’s passenger
and freight requirements. Kosovo
currently has a 333 km single
track non-electrified rail system
with standard gauge, which is in
good condition. The country will
be looking to expand its rolling
stock, however, which currently
consists of nine locomotives, four
Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs), ten
passenger carriages and 70 freight
wagons. As GDP continues to take
an upward turn, freight traffic in the
country has increased. Indeed, freight
carried by rail rose from 345,000
tonnes in 2006 to 588,000 tonnes
in 2007. Passenger numbers have
also risen in recent years climbing
by 4.25% between 2006 and 2007 to
417,000 passengers. Kosovo Railways
(KR) is also looking to expand their
services with a line opened between
Prishtina and Skopje and another
in the pipeline for commercial
passenger services to Peja. KR is also
considering an express train service
to Prishtina Airport.
Beyond investment and network
expansions, the government has
tried to bind itself to the European
regulatory environment. In June
2006, the UN Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) on behalf of Kosovo signed
the European Common Aviation
Area (ECAA) Agreement. The ECAA
provides the framework for a single
market for aviation covering 35
countries and 500 million people.
The agreement will gradually
extend complete European aviation
legislation to all its members. In
June 2004, UNMIK also signed an
MOU on the Development of the
South East Europe Core Regional
Transport Network (SEECRTN)
which will provide a unified strategy
for regional transport policy in South
East Europe.
The future of Kosovo is therefore
firmly embedded within regional
policies on transport. To achieve
this, however, the country will need
to upgrade its transport network
through a series of PPP investments.
Indeed, future growth in the sector
will be fuelled by the private sector.
37