London: Additional 1.5 million Euros for Railways to Montenegro

Minister of European Affairs Aleksandar Andrija Pejović represented Montenegro at the board meeting of the Western Balkans Investment Framework in London, where a decision on financing several infrastructural projects was made. Montenegro is one of four countries which received funds for this area, so an additional 1.5 million Euros was allocated for the preparation of infrastructure projects. On this occasion, funds for the preparation of project documentation for replacement the signaling and safety systems in the railway stations Golubovci, Zeta, Virpazar, Sutomore and Bar, as well as their connections to the central signal and safety device in Podgorica were approved, which will further modernise rail line Bar-Vrbnica.

In addition to this project, which is directly aimed at Montenegro, a project worth 4.5 million Euros was assigned to Albania. It is a project that focuses on the preparation of reconstruction of the rail line Vora-Hani Hoti to the border with Montenegro, which will be of great importance for the future linking of the rail network between Montenegro and the rest of the region. This project began to be implemented after the Montenegrin Railways signed a Cooperation Agreement with the Albanian Railways on 21 June 2016, which was followed by the protocols on cooperation in the fields of customs and sanitary and phytosanitary control.

Minister Pejović presented to the members of Board the importance of infrastructure connections – investments in railway particularly, pointing to the Montenegro's commitment to the whole process of planning and implementation of the infrastructure projects, especially in the areas that have been identified as priorities under the Connectivity Agenda. He said in his speech that „additional investment in the railways is of primary importance in the context of the Berlin process and the future connecting of Montenegro with the Western Balkans countries and the European Union“.