April 2011
Montenegro Cancels Montecargo Tender Montenegro’s Privatisation Council decided to cancel its invitation to tender for 85.45% of the rail transport company Montecargo after sale talks with the Romanian consortium Grampet collapsed. The Council and the sole bidder, Grampet, did not manage to reach an agreement on the sale contract. The tender process for Montecargo opened in late 2009. Grampet initially offered €1.65 million ($2.3 million) for the majority stake and later raised its offer to €4.6 million. Montecargo achieved a profit of €1.5 million last year, when its revenue rose by half to €10 million. It did not, however, specify whether the figure referred to net or to gross profit. The volume of cargo which the company transported last year rose by 43% to 1.2 million tonnes. Invitation to Tender for Ulcinj Riviera and for the Long-term Lease of MontepranzoBokaprodukt to be Put Forward The Tender Commission for Tourism has decided to invite tenders at the sale of 63% of HTP Ucinjska Rivijera and for the longterm lease of a plot of land owned by the agricultural company Montepranzo-Bokaprodukt, on which a golf course will be developed. The invitation for tenders to bid will be put out no later than 30th April. Montenegro decided to cancel tenders for the sale of a 75% stake in Montepranzo-Bokaprodukt after failing to reach an agreement with the second-ranked bidder, a consortium led by Atlas Group. Previously, the tender was launched in 2007 and Netherlands-based Limon Investments Limited was picked as the best bidder after filing the highest bid of €48.3 million ($46.4 million). Limon Investments Limited, however, failed to provide guarantees for its pledged investment of €205 million and the government then started to engage in talks with a second bidder. Montepranzo-Bokaprodukt’s main asset comprises over two million square meters of land in the municipalities of Tivat and Kotor, on the Adriatic coast, and includes some 800,000 square meters that are located near Tivat airport. Sole Bid for Wireless Internet Project in Montenegro Austrian EOSS has filed a sole bid to tender for the implementation of a project that aims to boost Montenegro’s wireless Internet network. Two other companies bought tender documents – Crnogorski Telekom, part of Hungary’s Magyar Telekom group, and the Croatian state-owned telecommunications equipment provider OiV. The tender deadline, which was extended twice, closed on 31st March. Montenegro’s wireless project is part of the government’s initiative to increase Internet penetration across the country. The chosen strategic investor in Montenegro’s wireless network partnership will be responsible for the preparation of technical documentation for all aspects of the project. The chosen partner will also have to provide all the necessary equipment, devices and software, as well as being responsible for installation, maintenance and monitoring, and management during all phases of the project implementation and realisation.
can submit bids for one or more batches, or for the entire volume of electricity required. Montenegro, which has an installed power capacity of 868 MW, suffers from constant power shortages and is increasing its volume of electricity imports on an annual basis. Almost two-thirds of its electricity output comes from two big hydro power stations, Perućica and Piva, and around one-third is generated by its sole thermal power plant, TE Pljevlja. Montenegro Likely to Call New Tender for the Lease of Valdanos Resort Montenegro is expected to put out a new bid for tenders for a 30year lease of the Valdanos resort. This is expected by the end of April, following the Tender Commission’s declaration that it had been unsuccessful in its previous attempt to find a lessee. After considering a letter received by its chosen candidate, the British company, Cubus Lux, the Tender Commission decided to announce that the tender had been unsuccessful. It will recommend to the Privatization Council that it should open a new tender procedure by the end of April. In November 2010, Montenegro said that it had plans to lease Valdanos to Cubus Lux which had offered to invest at least €222.5 million ($308 million) in an exclusive four and fivestar tourist complex. In a recent letter to the Teneer Commission, however, Cubus Lux said that unsolved property issues required it to review the potential risks in the investment. The company also said that it was particularly concerned by the fact that the Government had insisted on receiving a bank guarantee before the legally prescribed deadline. Cubux Lux will not easily give up on the Valdanos project as it has already invested “three years and a big amount of money” in the project prepatarion, said Cubus Lux’s financial director, Steve McCann. Montenegro Once Again to Seek Advisor for Oil/Gas Concession Montenegro will soon repeat its tender to find a consultant for an oil and gas concession after having cancelled the initial one. The government decided to cancel the tender as none of the bidders had met all of the formal requirements. According to various announcements, the invitation to put forward a tender will be repeated very soon. Montenegro launched a public procurement procedure to find an advisor for the concession in December 2010. It is said that the estimated value of the contract, including value added tax, was around €0.4 ($557.000).
EPCG Puts Out Tender for 329.380 MWh Electricity Supply The Montenegrin power monopoly, Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG), put out a bid for tenders for the purchase of 329,380 megawatt hours (MWh). This is expected to partially cover the country’s power needs during the second half of 2011. Candidates
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