Page 114 - SE Outlook Regions 2023

keep energy prices lower. The EU’s package for the Western Balkans is
worth €1bn.

Montenegro hopes to get new gas power plants. In July, Switzerland's
SS&A Power Consultancy announced that it was picked by EPCG to
carry out a study on the development of technical solutions for the
energy transition and a preliminary feasibility study for gas power plants
in combination with renewables.

SS&A will develop a study to set EPCG on a path to modernise
Montenegro’s electricity infrastructure, reduce CO2 emissions, and
establish goals for meeting EU standards and regulations in
decarbonising power generation.

The company will also draft a strategy for the operation of gas-fired
power plants and their integration with renewable energy sources, while
also defining future solutions for carbon capture and storage (CCS).

There is an ongoing scandal involving Maltese state energy company
Enemalta’s acquisition of the Mozura wind farm project in Montenegro.
In February 2021, Enemalta found that €6.8mn of the total price of the
deal on the acquisition of Mozura wind farm in Montenegro was not
included in the documents on the deal.

In June the previous year, Reuters reported that 17 Black Limited, an
offshore company investigated by Maltese journalist Caruana Galizia
prior to her murder, was involved in the deal. Moreover, 17 Black
allegedly made a €4.6mn profit from the deal.

Following the publication, Enemalta launched an internal investigation
and found out that, while it acquired the wind farm from Cifidex for
€10.3mn, the contract 'under-declared' the price by €6.8m. The sale
price listed on the contract signed between the two companies and
declared to the tax authorities in the Balkan state was €3.5mn.

Both Enemalta and Montenegro have launched probes into the project
but have not yet revealed any findings.

3.7.5 Construction

The construction sector in Montenegro has partly revived from the
coronacrisis and in July the first priority stretch of the key Bar-Boljare
motorway was launched. Its completion was significantly delayed due to
the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and related slowness in issuing
construction permits.

The Smokovac-Matesevo stretch was funded with a loan from Chinese
Exim Bank. That's put the country in a difficult financial position, with its
debt reaching more than 100% of GDP in 2020.

Podgorica signed the $944mn loan deal with Exim Bank in 2014. The
loan has a 20-year repayment period, five-year grace period and a 2%

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