June 4 (SeeNews) - Montenegro expects the submarine cable linking its power transmission system to Italy's to be put into commercial operation by the end of 2019, local media reported.
"Testing is underway [...] a few days ago we exported electricity from Montenegro to Italy and the operation was successful," Montenegrin public broadcaster RTCG quoted economy minister Dragica Sekulic as saying on Monday.
The cost of the entire project is about 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) and the construction of the infrastructure on the territory of Montenegro has been completed, Sekulic said in an interview for private broadcaster TV Prva.
"The undersea cable will make Montenegro an energy hub in the Western Balkans. The project provides a connection to the market of the European Union and it will also strengthen the transmission network in Montenegro," she added.
The project consists of an interconnection between Montenegro – Italy (submarine cable), the construction and enhancement of the 400 kV transmission network in Montenegro, and the construction of 400 kV overhead lines between Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia.
In December, Norwegian energy transmission company Nexans completed the installation and testing of the 445 km-long submarine section of the power line. The undersea cable between Italy and Montenegro represents a link of the 400 kV Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor (Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro) to the European Union grid.
($ = 0.887106 euro)