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.
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NOEL KING, HOST: The tiny mountainous country of Montenegro in southeastern Europe needed a good road. China offered to build it. And now Montenegro owes China the equivalent of a quarter of its economy, and Montenegro is not sure it can pay. Now, this road is part of a greater drama about a battle for influence in countries that are just outside of the European Union. Here s NPR s Rob Schmitz.
ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE: The 25-mile section of highway that threatens to take Montenegro s economy starts here in the mountains outside the capital, Podgorica. The multilane expressway is lined with scaffolding. The Chinese construction company hasn t finished it yet, so cars are using the old road underneath it. It hasn t been paid for yet either. The first payment on the billion-dollar loan is due in July, and it s unclear whether Montenegro will be able to pay China back. What s worse, says former justice minister Dragan Soc, once completed, the road won t lead anywhere anyway - n