Business Environment Macroeconomic Outlook Capital Market Banking Sector Privatization and Investments Economic Freedom Business News In the Spotlight Coming up...
Privatization and Investments Altcom Interested in the Construction of a Bypass in Montenegro The Ukrainian financial and industrial group, Altcom, has shown interest in a €40 million ($53 million) project for the construction of a bypass in Montenegro’s Adriatic resort of Budva. A visiting delegation of Altcom representatives visited the site for the planned bypass project, along with another site at Kotor. The statement said that Altcom builds and revamps railways, airports, stadiums, tunnels, bridges and underground networks. The company already owns two granite mines and two brick factories.
Montenegrin Municipality of Berane is going to Start Talks with Turkish Limark on Airport Revival The Montenegrin Municipality of Berane will soon start talks with Turkish Limak Holding on a project regarding the revival of its airport, said the mayor of Berane, Vuka Golubovic. “We soon expect to start negotiations with Limark representatives about this project that will be implemented through public-private partnership“ said Mr. Golubović. Another Turkish company, Turkmall, has also shown interest in the project. Neither of the two companies, however, has yet filed bids to tender for the reconstruction of the airport. The invitation to tender was opened at the end of last year. Berane is one of four Montenegrin airports that feature a paved runway and one of three to have a terminal building. It was built in the 1960s and was mainly used by the flag carrier of the former Yugoslav federation, JAT. Also, its main purpose was to service flights to Belgrade in Serbia and to Ljubljana in Slovenia.
Romanians Interested in Cableway Construction The Ambassador of Romania in Montenegro, Mr. Mihailo Florović expressed a particular interest in the Kotor-Cetinje cableway construction project during talks with the mayor of Cetinje, Mr. Aleksandar Bogdanović. Mr. Bogdanović informed the Romanian ambassador about activities that take place in the small royal capital as well as about various planned investments. He said that the key priority at the present time was to reduce unemployment, primarily through tourism and small-scale economy development. The ambassador, Mr. Florović announced the arrival of a representatives of Romanian Chamber of Commerce in Montenegro by June. He also said that, on this occasion, opportunities for investment in Montenegro would be considered. Source: www.seenews.com
Annex Agreed for the HTP ‘Boka’ Sale Agreement At its second session, the Council for Privatization and Capital Projects agreed the draft for an annex to the sale agreement for 59.5% of the shares of HTP "Boka" in Herceg Novi. This agreement defines new deadlines for the implementation of the investment, a new investment program and new guarantees regarding the execution of obligations. For the purpose of securing this new agreement, the investor will also be required to pay an additional €10 million to the Government of Montenegro.
Tenders Tender for HPP on the Morača river Extended - An Extra Five Months for Bids The government’s Commission for Economic Policy and Financial System has accepted a proposal to extend the deadline for the submission of bids for building hydro power plants on the Morača River to 30th September, 2011. The Italian companies, Enel and A2A, both of which are in consortium with the state power company (EPCG) have informed the Montenegrin Ministry of Economy that they were unable to submit their bids by the initial 15th April deadline, and need at least an extra three months in order to complete them. ENEL and A2A are participating jointly in putting forward a bid to tender with the Montenegrin power monopoly EPCG. They now remain the only interested companies after the short listed candidates, the Chinese company Sinohydro Corporation and the Austrian company Strabag, withdrew from the competition for this project at the end of last year. The HPP system on the Morača River includes the building of four hydro power plants that should have the average annual production capacity of 690 GW.
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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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