China’s CCECC wins EU-backed contract to rehabilitate Montenegro railway

MONTENEGRO: Chinese contractor CCECC has won a €16m European-funded contract covering the Montenegrin section of the TEN-T main line linking the port of Bar with Beograd, while an EBRD loan completes a €230·8m funding package for the Golubovci – Bar section at the southern end of the corridor.

Infrastructure manager Željeznička infrastruktura Crne Gore has awarded the state-owned China Civil Engineering Construction Corp a €16.1m contract, excluding VAT, to rehabilitate 20 km of track between Lutovo and Bioče, north of Podgorica. The line from the Adriatic port of Bar to the Serbian border is Montenegro’s principal international rail link, although a line does also exist across the border into Albania.

The contract was signed on April 17, although the award announcement was only published on November 5. The works are scheduled to take 36 months and are being financed through a loan from the European Investment Bank and a grant from the Western Balkans Investment Framework. The project includes rehabilitation of the superstructure, track renewal and improvements to the main line tracks at Bratonožići and Bioče stations.

The contract represents the latest example of a Chinese railway construction company implementing infrastructure works financed through European financial institutions. CCECC has an established presence in the western Balkans, where Chinese contractors have participated in several major transport infrastructure projects.

Separately, Montenegro’s Ministry of Transport launched an international tender on November 2 for the modernisation of 22 level crossings, financed through the World Bank-supported Western Balkans Trade & Transport Facilitation Project Phase 2. The procurement covers the design, supply and installation of safety equipment at 20 crossings on the Podgorica – Nikšić line and two on the Podgorica – Bar line. The evaluation methodology allocates 70% of the weighting to price and 30% to technical and other non-price criteria.

EBRD loan

Further south, the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development announced on October 1 that it was providing a €50m sovereign loan for the rehabilitation of the 39 km Golubovci – Bar section of the main line to and from Beograd. The works will include renewal of the track, three stations and 11 bridges, plus upgrading of signalling, telecoms and power supply systems. The EBRD loan sits alongside a €112·6m EU grant agreed under WBIF, a €63m EIB loan and €5.2m from the Montenegrin government. The works contract has yet to be awarded.

‘With the signing of this loan, the conditions are now in place for a swift start to the works and the sustained modernisation of this strategic railway line’, said Bernard Brunet, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Montenegro.

The EBRD package also includes technical assistance for Montenegro’s newly established independent Railway Agency and to improve the railway operator’s cybersecurity. The bank has supported the Montenegrin railway sector since 2007, providing three loans totalling €51m for infrastructure rehabilitation and emergency works, as well as financing for maintenance equipment.