November 5 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on Thursday affirmed Montenegro's economic growth forecast at 3% for 2015 while raising its 2016 outlook to 4%.
In May, the EBRD said it expects Montenegro's economy to expand by 3% in 2015 and by 3.7% in 2016.
Although Montenegro's growth in 2014 was disappointing at around 1.8%, a pick-up is under way primarily driven by a major Chinese-financed infrastructure project - the Bar-Boljare motorway - which should be in full swing in 2016, the EBRD said in a statement.
The EBRD added that the tourism sector performed well in 2015, as a drop in Russian tourists was more than compensated by an increase from other countries particularly in the SEE region.
The multi-lateral lender, however, added that a major downside risk lies in the fiscal side and cautioned that the worrying rise in public debt in recent years may necessitate painful austerity measures elsewhere, especially if economic growth rates were to falter.
The 169 km Bar-Boljare motorway will be part of the longer Bar-Belgrade stretch of pan-European transport Corridor X, which will link Montenegro's Adriatic coast with the Serbian capital.