Regional development strategy - RDA South

22.3REGIONAL PROFILEEconomy: Infrastructure and Business Environment2.3 Economy:Infrastructure andBusiness EnvironmentREGIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FOR THE ECONOMIC REGION SOUTHRoad networkRegion South is characterized by a developednetwork of local, regional and main roads,but the majority of them are in relatively poorcondition. One of the most important goalsfor Kosovo in terms of transport developmentis providing the linkage with the Pan-Europeanroad corridors. Economic Region South iscurrently not linked to any of the corridors ofthe Trans-European Network (TEN). Withinthe medium term time horizon of the currentstrategy the region will be connected to theE10 corridor through the highway Durrës –Prizren – Prishtinë/Priština - Merdare. Thehighway construction is close to completionon the Albanian side (with the exception ofthe tunnel that needs to be upgraded to accommodate2-way traffic) and currently thehighway stretches up to the village of Vermicain the Municipality of Prizren. The freewayconstruction will continue on the Kosovo sideup until Merdare (on the Kosovo – Serbia border),passing through the outskirts of the Cityof Prizren, as well as municipalities of Suhareka/Suvarekaand Malisheva/Mališevo.Preparatory work is underway on the Kosovoside. It is certain that the construction of thehighway will considerably increase the prospectsof the region, i.e. the highway itselfwill offer a great number of development opportunitiesby integrating the region in theEuropean road network in an adequate way.In Kosovo, the roads are classified as highwaysor national roads, regional roads and localroads. National and regional roads arewithin the competences of the Ministry ofTransport andPost-Telecommunications and are rankedhigh in terms of importance. Local roads,which are the lowest in the ranking, are withinthe competences of local governments (municipalities)and have a total length of about6000 km. In the Region South there arearound 1200 km of local roads. More than 50%of them or 633 km are asphalted. Inter-regionallinks of road network are in average condition.They are mostly characterized by heavytraffic at the entrances and exits of the citiesand towns. In some cities of the Region South,such as in Suhareka/Suvareka, Rahovec/Orahovacand Malisheva/Mališevo, there are notransit roads and the entire traffic is beingrouted through the town. In concluding, theexisting condition of the local road network inthe Region South can be characterized as relativelygood – particularly due to the fact thatmost of the local roads are already paved withasphalt and have proper access to the regionalroad network of Kosovo. The technical conditionof the road network can be characterizedas one that is in need of continuous improvementand maintenance.Road fromPrizren toPristina.14