August 13 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Thursday it is considering providing a 15 million euro ($21.4 million) sovereign guaranteed loan to the Montenegro Railway Infrastructure Company for the completion of a priority track rehabilitation programme on the main branch-line of the country's railway network.
The branch-line provides a vital transportation link for the industrial Niksic region (the location of key industrial plants in the country supporting the main exporters: aluminium plant KAP and the Niksic steel mill) to the Port of Bar and the European rail network via Podgorica, the lender said in a statement posted on its website.
The total cost of the project is 17 million euro.
The proposed project will support the ongoing reform programme within the railway sector in Montenegro, the statement said.
The programme aims to implement an effective track access charge payment mechanism, introduce a transparent contractual relationship between infrastructure, rail operations and the state and open up rail maintenance and rail real estate to partial or full private sector participation, it added.
Montenegro's railway network totals 331 km, including 168 km of electrified lines.
($=0.6993 euro)