The updated Spatial Plan no longer includes the Adriatic-Ionian Highway at the Smokovac interchange. Instead, the highway will now extend from Smokovac towards Tuzi and Božaj, conditional on Albania’s needs.

Without the conditional route to Tuzi, Smokovac will lose its status as an interchange, offering only a continuation of the highway to Rogami and Tološi. The conditional expressway to Tuzi is critical, as it would create three additional entry and exit points, accounting for two-thirds of a large future interchange.

This conditional addition poses a construction ban in the broader Rogama area—specifically in the hamlet of Ras—endangering the homes of 35 households and nearly 100 residents, who face potential demolition of their properties. This has stalled their plans for property development, including vineyards and orchards, and hindered access to essential infrastructure.

The Coordination Committee of Local Residents sent an open letter to members of parliament just before the Spatial Plan debate, urging the removal of the expressway to Tuzi from the proposal, arguing its redundancy due to the existing Podgorica – Tuzi boulevard and the ongoing highway link between Ulcinj and Shkodra.

The hamlet is home to the Rajković and Vukanović families, who have resided there since the Berlin Congress in the late 19th century, comprising of 34 households and approximately 100 residents. Two local businesses also employ six individuals each in the prospective interchange area.

“Honorable parliament members, private property, encompassing both natural and human-made assets that have been diligently preserved, contributes significantly to national wealth. The Smokovac interchange project threatens to destroy an ecologically pristine area. Initially, we were hopeful for a favorable decision to redirect the Adriatic-Ionian motorway southward towards Bar and Ulcinj, entering Albania at Sukobin. Unfortunately, our optimism diminished upon discovering a YouTube video outlining the expressway project from Smokovac to Božaj. At a request meeting with the director of Monteput, we learned that the expressway was initiated based on requests from residents of nearby villages. The video indicates that a 2.5 km tunnel is being constructed right after bridging the Morača River to preserve homes and properties in the Doljani and Zlatica regions, extending to Božaj’s border,” stated the letter.

Essentially, solutions involving lengthy tunnels are being constructed to protect other areas, while no alternatives have been proposed for Rogama and Ras.

Residents believe a more efficient and cost-effective solution could have been found for connecting Podgorica and Tuzi, which wouldn’t jeopardize their homes. Yet, they received only a promise from Monteput to mitigate their issues without addressing the proposed additional loop.

“We entirely reject this proposal as unacceptable for several reasons: by altering the route of the Adriatic-Ionian motorway, plans outlined in the 2008 spatial plan no longer apply, and an international motorway project cannot be substituted with a mere highway; thus, the scale and format of the prior interchange cannot be upheld, as the expressway is merely a rural road lacking the same significance; the connection between Smokovac and Božaja already exists through the Zlatica roundabout and the boulevard to Tuzi. Moreover, the forthcoming western bypass around Podgorica will link to the southern bypass and the boulevard to Tuzi. We insist, in accordance with legal standards, that alternative solutions be developed to enhance traffic infrastructure and connect Tuzi and Božaja to the motorway without adverse impacts on Ras residents,” the letter, authored by the Coordination citizens’ committee led by Milodarka Novosel Vukanovic, Vukan Vukanovic, Branko Rajkovic, and Zoran Rajkovic, emphasized.

The residents noted that the proposed expressway to Tuzi involves not just a large interchange crossing their land but also entails constructing two and a half kilometers of tunnels and three and a half kilometers of bridges, totaling 22 kilometers, accruing costs in the hundreds of millions of euros.

Without the expressway’s inclusion to Tuzi, Smokovac would revert to being a junction with just one additional entry and exit.

No environmental impact assessments completed for the entire loop.

Residents remind that a strategic environmental impact assessment for the Smokovac interchange has yet to be finalized, as the study is being executed in phases.

“This situation is legally unacceptable since there is no overarching document, indicating that the impacts of the interchange project on drinking water, air, and soil pollution will only be evaluated after completing all three phases (should the expressway to Božaj be built), a requirement known since the interchange’s design in 2008. We urge our neighbors to understand and support us, as well as the parliamentarians, to whom this appeal is mainly directed. It is our duty to advocate for our rights and for the facts to be recognized, while you, the parliament members, must decide on our behalf,” expressed the residents of Ras in their public address.

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