Kosovo

 

Reconstruction of the Dubova bridge on RN 120	Embankment along RN 102 Section Kucic – Komaran	RN 107 Section Peje -Prizren.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ROAD, RAIL AND AVIATION SUB-SECTORS:

Roads

Network: The road network of Kosovo consists of about 3,800 kilometers. of roads, including 623km of main roads (all paved), and 1,300km of regional roads, of which 920km are paved. Most of the roads have been built or rebuilt in the sixties. Road design standards are usually adequate, with the exception of the width of the roadways and shoulders, which are usually very narrow. Network density is relatively low, at about 0.35km/km2. Adequate development and maintenance of the road network in Kosovo has been an issue since the 1970s. While the road network has been developed, road maintenance has been persistently under-funded. This has resulted in a continuous deterioration of the road network. The Spring 1999 conflict has had limited impact on the road network.

Institutions: The Roads Directorate is responsible for the upkeep of all main and regional roads. Side streets and the tertiary road network are a municipal responsibility. The Directorate focuses on completing the reconstruction of the most badly damaged bridges and sections of main roads and the maintenance of the existing assets. The capacity of local road construction industry is still limited but it can out the rehabilitation of the main links of the province (RN2 between Pristina and the South, RN9 and RN25 to the West, which respectively handle Pristina/Peje/Montenegro and Pristina/Prizren/Albania traffic). Local personnel is trained and so is the local construction industry.

Service: Intercity public transport is provided by KosovoTrans - a "co-operative" owned 51% by the government and 49% by its employees, with a mandate to provide intercity services throughout the Province. About 80% of the fleet was destroyed during the conflict and virtually all workshop and office equipment removed or trashed. Today, the Company has a serviceable fleet of some 200 buses operating out of Company terminals in 12 regional centres and needs to be privatized. As for urban transport, UrbanBus Pristina - a "co-operative" owned jointly by the Municipality and its employees now operate about 50 buses whereas private buses – estimated 500- are also in operation together with informal mini-bus and van services. A regulatory body - the Public Transport Authority – is developing to oversee the allocation of services between competing carriers, and through the commercialization / privatization of KosovoTrans.

Aviation

Pristina airport is the only facility available in the province. It lies about 20 km south-west of the City with a 2,500 meter runway capable of handling B-737's. Passenger traffic increased from 400,000 in 2000 to 840,000 in 2002. A military base for fighter aircraft is located to the West of the airport. NATO bombing destroyed the control tower, the technical block, and the Air Traffic Control systems but the runway and taxiways were only slightly damaged. The luggage reclaim area in the terminal building was also damaged. Air traffic at the airport is presently controlled by KFOR. A temporary control tower has been installed and new navigation aids, including a new Instrument Landing System (ILS), are operational and allows the reinstatement of round-the-clock operations. The organisation of the airport is split between airside (provided by KFOR) and landside services (handled by Public Enterprise Airport Pristina - a "co-operative" formerly owned jointly by the government and the employees).

The immediate policy objectives for the Airport Authority include the establishment of the terminal as a self-financing entity for eventual privatisation and the resolution of issues related to the rights of ownership and operation of the terminal.

Rail

The existing non-electrified, standard gauge, single track railway network has a combined length of 330 km. Railway services are run by the KFOR railway regiments. Not all of this is useable, but refurbishment is ongoing (Sinji tunnel north of Pristina) or planned. The system suffered only minor damage during the conflict but lost much of its rolling stock to the Serb withdrawal. Poor maintenance of what remained severely limited the railway's capacity to relieve the road network in the heavily trafficked Pristina/Skopje corridor. Both signaling and telecommunications systems are still in need of repair, as was the workshop. The immediate objectives for the sector are the rehabilitation and upgrading of the signal system and workshop and the provision of reliable locomotives and rolling stock. On the medium term, the establishment of the railway as a self-financing entity for eventual commercialization / privatization is on the agenda.

The traffic develops with about 340 000 tonnes each year. Freight traffic consists of 60% KFOR and 40% Commercial traffic. Passenger traffic has been extended since 2002 and covers the whole of Kosovo twice daily. Strong efforts have been made to re-open the railway line to Serbia, with agreement signed between Serbian- and UNMIK Railways in May 2002 and the northern line reopened on Dec 2002.

WB ONGOING PROJECTS AND FUTURE ACTIVITIES:

The Bank involvement is limited the activities that can be handled in a non-member country. The Bank contributes to economic reconstruction in Kosovo and coordinates its activities with those of other partners, the EC in particular as the Bank and the EC have been given a joint mandate to ensure donor coordination in the Balkan region (endorsed in April 1999). Under this mandate, the two institutions are responsible for "coordination of matters related to the economic recovery, reform and reconstruction of the Southeast European Region," through the creation of a "High Level Steering Group" that oversees the economic recovery and reconstruction mandate, and an expert-level working group with which the Bank and the EC are dealing on an ongoing basis. An EC-World Bank joint office in Brussels is operational and a website provides information on the Balkans at http://www.seerecon.org/kosovo/.

Early after the conflict in 1999, The Bank financed a US$5 million grant for an Urgent Road Project to contribute to the reconstruction and economic development of the province by financing part of a US$60 million comprehensive program of interventions in the road sector for the year 2000-2003. The World Bank-funded activities include:

• Road Maintenance. About 570 km of roads were maintained under the project with a focus on funding road maintenance on those sections of the main network which do not require extensive rehabilitation;
• Road Rehabilitation. The project funded overlay on about 100km of high priority itineraries and,
• Support to Road Management Capacity. The project funded studies on the potential introduction of road user charges. It had also provided for a site engineer to organize supervision of works and to strengthen supervision capacity within the Road Administration.

The grant was disbursed in full by June 30, 2003. To date there is no new project under implementation nor is the Bank planning any new transport project in the province.