diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 7b22cd273..6c2b7cdd6 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -64,7 +64,11 @@ set(OSRM_VERSION_MINOR 16)
 set(OSRM_VERSION_PATCH 0)
 set(OSRM_VERSION "${OSRM_VERSION_MAJOR}.${OSRM_VERSION_MINOR}.${OSRM_VERSION_PATCH}")
 
-add_definitions(-DOSRM_PROJECT_DIR="${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}")
+if (MSVC)
+  add_definitions("-DOSRM_PROJECT_DIR=\"${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}\"")
+else()
+  add_definitions(-DOSRM_PROJECT_DIR="${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}")
+endif()
 
 # these two functions build up custom variables:
 #   DEPENDENCIES_INCLUDE_DIRS and OSRM_DEFINES