February 8 (SeeNews) - Montenegro will start the revamp of the 40-km railway section linking the Adriatic city of Bar with the town of Golubovci, located on the outskirts of capital Podgorica, next year, local media reported on Thursday.
The project is worth 224 million euro ($241 million), and half of it will come as a donation from the European Commission, while the other half will comprise loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), daily Vijesti reported, citing information from state-controlled railway infrastructure operator Zeljeznicka Infrastruktura Crne Gore (ZICG).
ZICG expects to complete all internal procedures on obtaining the donations and the loans by mid-2024, after which the financing contracts could be signed, the report said.
Once the contracts for project financing are signed and the technical documentation is completed, the tender for construction works will be opened, ZICG officials were quoted as saying.
Last year, Montenegro applied for a 112.6 million euro grant from the Commission to support the Bar-Golubovci project. The revamp is expected to increase the safety and the speed limits on the railway section, improve its transport capacities, and help develop multimodal transport in the country.
The section is part of the Bar-Boljare railway which links Montenegro's Adriatic coast with the country's border with Serbia in the north.
($ = 0.928 euro)