Kosovo's acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti has said that the construction of new bridges is in the function of communication and cooperation between communities, stressing that the lack of bridges creates tensions. He made this statement on Saturday afternoon after laying the foundation stones for two new bridges over the Ibar River in the north of the country.
"I am always in favor of bridges of cooperation. These bridges are to show our commitment to having as much communication, circulation, cooperation and exchanges as possible between the north and the south," Kurti said, adding that "bridges are not against anyone, they are for all citizens, for Albanians, Serbs, Bosniaks, Roma and others."
He stressed that the construction of these bridges is in full compliance with development plans and the law, responding to the warning a day earlier by the European Union, which had asked Kosovo authorities to refrain from "unilateral actions", including the construction of connecting bridges.
Kurti announced that one of the new bridges will be 51 meters long and 10 meters wide, with 1.5-meter sidewalks, while the other will be 41 meters long and 37 meters wide. One will serve vehicles and pedestrians, and the other only for pedestrians.
Kurti announced that with these two new bridges, the total number of bridges over the Ibar River in Kosovo will increase to 37, "while on the entire river, which passes through Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia, there are a total of 77 bridges."
He thanked the mayors of both municipalities for their cooperation, as well as the Ministry for the implementation of this project, which is expected to be completed in the fall, at a cost of approximately 3 million euros.
Speaking also about the main bridge over the Ibar River, which is currently closed to vehicle traffic and monitored by Italian carabinieri, Kurti said that it should be opened as soon as possible.
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The foundation stones of two new bridges over the Ibar River are laid
"We never give up on any of our goals. This bridge needs to be opened. The sooner it opens, the more reasonable. And when it opens is also in the hands of the Italian carabinieri. We do not want to create any friction with anyone, including the Italian carabinieri, so we are waiting for them to be convinced, as we are convinced, that the bridge needs to be opened for vehicle traffic as well," he stressed.
"Rest assured, with two more bridges on the Ibar River it will only be better," Kurti concluded his speech.
Acting Minister of Infrastructure, Liburn Aliu, said that the works will be completed in October at the latest – a month later than Kurti said. Acting Minister of Local Government Administration, Elbert Krasniqi, appeared more optimistic, saying that the works will be completed in early September.
