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PODGORICA, Montenegro The section of highway that threatens to cripple Montenegro’s economy begins in the foothills outside the capital Podgorica, where scaffolding lines a multi-lane expressway closed off to the public. The highway ends, for now, in the remote mountainous terrain east of the city. The Chinese state-owned company hasn’t finished construction yet, so cars are using the old road underneath it. The highway hasn’t been paid for yet, either. The first installment of the $1 billion loan from a Chinese state bank is due in July, and it’s unclear whether Montenegro, whose debt has climbed to more than a 100% of its gross domestic product due to this project, will be able to afford it. What’s worse, says the country’s former Justice Minister Dragan Soc, once completed, the road won’t lead anywhere anyway. “We make a joke: It is a highway from nothing to nothing,” he says.

Greece generalAdriatic seaOceans generalSerbia generalBruxelles capitaleStefan vladisavljevMladen grgicMilica kovacevicEuropean institute for asianBelgrade fund for political excellenceEuropean unionChina embassyJustice minister dragan socChina roadBridge corporationExport import bank