Council for Public Investments holds its second session

The second session of the Council for Public Investments was held, chaired by the Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, with the participation of relevant ministers and key institutions responsible for implementing capital projects.

In addition to current matters, the Council discussed the following agenda items: Proposal for capital projects to reallocate unspent funds from the Capital Budget for the year 2024; Proposal for capital projects to increase total estimated values; Information on the implementation of infrastructure projects: highways and expressways; Information on disputes regarding project implementation.

Considering the activities of the Government of Montenegro, which, with the support of the European Commission, were directed towards securing grants and favourable credit arrangements with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the construction of the second section of the highway from Mateševo to Andrijevica, there will be no withdrawal of planned funds from the "Bar-Boljare Highway" activity totaling 50 million euros by the end of the current year, which were intended for advance payment in case of contract signing with the contractor.

Given that the execution of the Capital Budget in the current year is almost double that of last year in the same period (about 26 million in 2023), unspent funds from the continued construction project of the highway will be redirected towards projects progressing at a faster pace, as proposed by the Ministry of Finance.

Regarding the intensive activities carried out by "MONTEPUT DOO" in designing conceptual solutions for highway and expressway construction, it was noted that tenders have been announced for the design of conceptual solutions for three more sections of highways and three expressways, while the preparation of project tasks for four more crucial transportation projects is underway, completing the project documentation for 260 km of highways and 200 km of expressways.

Furthermore, the Council acknowledged that the Government should make additional efforts to secure funding sources and necessary funds, aiming to complete ongoing projects and initiate new ones for which technical documentation is ready and public tenders have been announced to select the most favourable contractor.