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Privatization and Investments

investments Qatari Diar to Invest €250 Million in Montenegrin Resort Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co., part of the Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund, plans to invest €250 million in building a five-star Adriatic resort in Montenegro. Following the takeover of an existing hotel in a bay near the town of Tivat, the company owned by the Qatar Investment Authority will redevelop the 24-hectare (60-acre) site over the next two to twoand-a-half years. This resort will include a luxury hotel, villas and apartments, sports facilities and shopping malls. This is the fourth project that Qatari Diar is building in Europe, and officials have stated that during the first phase, Qatari Diar will invest €42 million in the project. Although the tourism industry in Montenegro is seasonal, Qatari Diar said that it expects the resort to stay open all year round.

Tender for Daily Pobjeda The Bosnian company, Avaz-roto Press, submitted the sole bid received in the tender for an 86% stake in Daily Pobjeda. The offered price for one share is €1 (3,142,950 shares in total). The tender documentation was also purchased by Media Nea, the owner of daily “Dnevne Novine”, but it did not submit an application in the end. Previous tenders for the sale of this company in 2007 and 2008 failed due to its debts. According to the latest data, the company’s total current debt is €10.53 million. The candidate buyer, Sarajevo-based Avaz-roto Press, offers to invest €2.1 million in Pobjeda’s core business during the first three years after it becomes private. It also intends to cut the number of employees to around 170 by 2015.

Montenegro’s EPCG Replacement Project

Launches

€43.5

Million

Electric

Meter

The Montenegrin power utility company, Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG), launched a €43.5 million project in mid-December, 2011, to replace old electric meters with new multifunctional devices in a bid to reduce losses in electricity and to raise the level of revenue collected from bills. It was planned that approximately 1,000 meters would be replaced in Podgorica by the end of 2011, with a total of 175,000 new devices being introduced over the next three years. The project will be co-financed by a €35 million loan that has been granted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The EPCG said that the level of power transmission loss in Montenegro is around 18%.

Montenegro to Invest €40 Million in Road Infrastructure in 2012 The Montenegrin Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs has announced that it will invest €40 million in road infrastructure projects during 2012. As part of its infrastructure upgrade plans, Montenegro will launch a project to overhaul 13 local roads next year. The Transport Minister, Andrija Lompar, announced that a project plan for this will be drafted in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Hilton Hotel Reconstruction Project in Podgorica gets Regulatory Nod The company managing the hotel, Normal Tours recently announced that the oldest hotel in Montenegro, Capital Podgorica Hotel Crna Gora, will be renovated according to the building standards of the hotel chain Hilton. Representatives from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Normal Tours signed the contract regarding the financing of this venture on 11th April, 2011. A year ago, a contract was signed between the “Hilton” Hotel Corporation and "Normal Tours". Under the terms of this agreement the new hotel will have 210 rooms along with all the necessary facilities, and will be based on five star facility standards. The Hilton should be in a position to manage the newly renovated hotel within the next 15 years. The Montenegrin Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism has issued the relevant permits for the renovation of a hotel in Podgorica that will reopen under the Hilton brand following a revamp costing €20 million.

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