The Government of Montenegro has given its consent to an updated list of 102 priority environmental infrastructure projects with an estimated total value of 1.5 billion euros, according to the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Region. The list covers water supply, wastewater treatment, waste management and flood protection, but has no proposals from Andrijevica, Budva or Šavnik.
The updated portfolio is worth around 690 million euros more than the list from 2021, which contained 79 projects valued at 811.75 million euros. The projects were assessed for strategic relevance under the methodology for selecting and prioritising infrastructure projects, the ministry said.
Andrijevica, Budva and Šavnik are absent because the municipalities did not submit projects, despite extensions to the deadlines and intensive communication with the ministry. The ministry’s document said the three municipalities, “despite all deadline extensions and intensive communication, did not submit their projects”.
The updated list includes water supply, construction and reconstruction of sewerage networks and wastewater treatment plants, waste management, flood protection, nature conservation and civil protection. Vodacom and Procon, the implementation units involved in preparing the list, took part in collecting and assessing the projects.
Water and waste projects account for largest allocations
The largest individual investment is the replacement of asbestos-cement water pipes, estimated at 586.78 million euros at national level, alongside additional local projects in several cities. On the 2021 list, the work was divided among regional projects for Podgorica, Nikšić and Tuzi, coastal municipalities and northern municipalities, with a combined value of around 142.4 million euros.
Seven projects directly assigned to Podgorica are worth around 253 million euros. They include a 150 million euro plant for thermal waste treatment and a 75.62 million euro project to collect and treat wastewater.
Other planned Podgorica investments include 20 million euros to modernise the Recycling Centre, three million euros for a biocomposting facility and slightly more than two million euros to convert biogas into electricity. The list also allocates 1.69 million euros to improve waste collection and selective disposal in the capital.
A 32.09 million euro project to bring water from Trebinje Lake to supply Herceg Novi, Tivat and Kotor is among the larger projects not shown on the 2021 list. In Herceg Novi, planned work includes a water network in the Kuta settlement valued at 620,000 euros, a green-waste composting facility costing 695,000 euros and an energy-efficient shelter for abandoned animals estimated at 570,000 euros.
Kotor’s planned infrastructure includes sewerage and water networks in Perast and Risan, as well as the Kostanjica–Morinj pipeline. The list groups six projects for Nikšić with a combined estimated value of around 71.5 million euros, including a 25 million euro Regional Waste Management Centre.
Plav and Gusinje have eight projects worth around 65.4 million euros. Their largest planned investments are the rehabilitation and protection of Lake Plav, valued at almost 23 million euros, and wastewater collection and treatment, valued at 23.08 million euros. Other projects include water-supply network reconstruction and expansion, regulation of the Grnčar River and the Kačanik reservoir.
Bijelo Polje has nine projects estimated at around 62.7 million euros, including a 16.4 million euro regional recycling centre for northern Montenegro. Berane has six projects worth around 32.8 million euros, covering water supply and digital water meters, regulation of the Lim River and its tributaries, a third phase of Lim riverbank protection, and underground storage facilities for municipal heating. The heating storage facilities are valued at 10 million euros.
Ulcinj’s five projects are worth around 94.8 million euros. The largest are a 39.06 million euro sewage system in Štoj and a wastewater treatment plant estimated at 33.5 million euros. Other planned work includes rehabilitation of Port Milena, a water network, separation of wastewater and stormwater sewers, and repairs to the Đerane submarine outfall.
The list assigns 9.88 million euros to the rehabilitation and ecological revitalisation of Port Milena and 9.66 million euros to a new water network and repairs to the existing network. Emergency work on the sewerage system and Đerane submarine outfall is estimated at 2.73 million euros. A separate national-level allocation of 11.03 million euros is for protection of the Ulcinj Salina Nature Park.
Financing to be considered in annual budgets
The ministry listed the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), available European Union financial programmes, IPA and loans from development banks as planned funding sources. The banks named were the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), KfW, CEB, AfD and the World Bank.
Financing is planned from WBIF, EU programmes and IPA, as well as development-bank loans, the ministry said. It said implementation of multi-year projects would follow the established timetable and available funding sources, which would be considered when Montenegro prepares its annual budget laws.
