January 31 (SeeNews) - UAE-based ports and industrial zones developer Abu Dhabi Ports has expressed interest in investing in Montenegro's Bar port, the Montenegrin government said.
A delegation of Abu Dhabi Ports has visited Montenegro to continue the negotiations on a potential partnership for the development of the harbour, as the company has been looking at Bar port for more than a year, the government said in a statement earlier this week.
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"We intend to position Bar port on the market in such a way as to be competitive with the ports in the region, and in time to become the main regional port, given its good geographical position and existing development capacities," the commercial and the strategic department director of Abu Dhabi Ports, Ross Tompson, said in the statement.
The cooperation with Abu Dhabi Ports would be beneficial not only for Bar port but also for the Montenegrin state, given the harbour's economic importance, the government said.
"The geographical position of Bar port, as well as the insufficiently utilised harbour capacities, can be an incentive for a company from the UAE to improve its performance by investing and transferring knowledge," transport minister Osman Nutkovic noted.
Abu Dhabi Ports operates 11 ports and terminals in UAE and Guinea. Since its incorporation in 2006, the company plays a key role in the economic growth of UAE, generating 3.6% of its non-oil gross domestic product.