Pristina’s Foreign Ring, which aims to ease the flow of vehicles and dismiss the capital from long columns, continues to remain a project pending implementation, though many years have been spoken of.
A new development is its involvement in government budgetary planning for the coming years.
For 2027, the Government has earmarked the allocation of 1m euros for 2028 euros, and for 2029 euro 50m.
In the Pristina municipality, they have assessed the project’s involvement in government budgetary planning as a positive sign, but say the money tools are not enough for its realisation.
Pristina’s Foreign Ring is a major infrastructure project, of particular importance not only to the citizens of Pristina, but also to all of Kosovo. In view of the size and cost of this project, it is clear that the investment value exceeds the planned budget by the Ministry for 2027. A broader financial support is needed for its full implementation, including access to financing through loans and reaching an agreement between the Pristina municipality and the Government of Kosovo, which has not yet been concrete, says Zyhrije Plana, director of capital investments.
On the other hand, from the opposition in Pristina, they say that the foreign ring has been repeatedly spoken of during Progress Rama’s rule, but that the municipality had not included the project in the budgets of the previous years.
I’ve been in government for five years. Rama has mentioned the city’s foreign ring, but he has never put it as part of the budget for years in which he ruled. Now we’ve seen the Government put him in the budget. They’re separated for the first year 1 million, second year I find 13 million and third year 50 million. It is now clear that the foreign ring will be made with the budget of the Republic of Kosovo. I hope the municipality will do its part in expropriating property, says Guzim Svechla, LVV’s assist.
The criticism of municipal governance also raises Bekim Salihu from the GAP Institute. He says there is a lack of concrete urban plans in the Pristina municipality.
We’re talking about the serious shortcomings Pristina Community has for drafting and finalising concrete urban plans that enable development and clarity about what is planned, says Bekim Salihu, of the GAP Institute.
Pristina’s Foreign Ring, scheduled to be about 23km long, aims to establish an alternative road link around the capital and ease traffic, enabling vehicles to circulate without having to cross the city centre.
Source Layer: RTKLive