Announcement: The second Sectoral Monitoring committee for the Operational Programme Regional Development 2012-2013

The second session of the Sectoral Monitoring Committee for the Operational Programme Regional Development 2012-2013 took place on Thursday, 11 June 2015, at 9:30 a.m., at the premises of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism.

In the introductory part of the meeting, the participants were addressed by Ratka Sekulović, head of the Department for EU funds management in the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism and Rastislav Prokopič, representative of the Directorate General for Regional Policy in the European Commission.

The Operational Programme provides a grant amounting to EUR 22 million while the amount of EUR 4 million needs to be provided for national co-financing. The total value of the Operational Programme amounts to EUR 26 million.

The participants were informed of 5 projects in the field of environmental protection and transport in which Montenegro and its citizens will for the first time be provided with support under the IPA Component III, as follows:

• Improvement of the water supply system and construction of a wastewater treatment facility and sewage network in Berane. Estimated project value in Berane is EIR 14.3 million;
• Rehabilitation of the non-sanitary disposal site Ćafe in Bar. Project implementation in Bar will require around EUR 5.4 million;
• Rehabilitation of the non-sanitary disposal site Vrtijeljka in Cetinje. Project implementation in Cetinje requires EUR 1.8 million;
• Rehabilitation of 12 slopes in sections of the main railway line Bar – Vrbnica (Kos- Trebešica-Lutovo-Bratonožići). The rehabilitation project on 12 slopes requires the sum of EUR 3.6 million;
• Dismantling of the existing and setting up of a new traction substation Trebešica, also on the railway Bar-Vrbnica. According to the current project documents, the tract substation Trebešica will require EUR 5.4 million;

The main topics of the Sectoral Monitoring Committee were: the adoption of the agenda, status of implementation of the projects from the Operational Programme, the annual report on implementation, a briefing note on project funding opportunities and preparation of guidelines for the programme closure, presentation of the Communication Plan for the IPA Component II as well as the briefing note on the system audit process.

The Committee meeting was attended by representatives of the European Commission, representatives of all institutions involved in IPA Component III in Montenegro, relevant representatives of the authorities and civil society, municipalities, as well as of other parties interested in implementation of the projects as planned by the Operational Programme.