American-Turkish consortium to build Kosovo highway in US$1 billion dollar deal

American-Turkish consortium builds Kosovo highway

PRISTINA, Kosovo — American-Turkish consortium Bechtel-Enka has been chosen for a $1 billion deal to build a highway across Kosovo, the new country’s transport minister said Monday.

Authorities are still negotiating details before signing a final agreement, Minister Fatmir Limaj told Kosovo’s public broadcaster, without giving any more details.

He said the project to link Kosovo with Albania in the west and Serbia in the east could create 10,000 new jobs.

The Bechtel-Enka consortium — made up of San Francisco, Calif.-based Bechtel International Inc. and Istanbul-based Enka — built a 65-kilometer (40-mile) section in Albania’s highway.

The runners up in the bidding, Austria’s Strabag, could be approached if talks with Bechtel-Enka fail.