The Spanish company Iberdrola engineering, which operates at the second part of the transmission line, stretching from Lastva to Cevo, already is on the ground. The access roads in the area of Resna (between Cevo and Cetinje) have been building and we hope that this work will be completed soon, said the president of the CGES board of directors Dragan Laketic.
This transmission line is part of the design of the power connections between Italy and the Balkans. Also an underwater cable to Jaz and power lines to Pljevlja has been built. CGES is in charge of work on the territory of Montenegro and the Italian Terna for an underwater cable. After the state, Terna is the second-largest shareholder in the CGES. The entire project should be completed by the end of 2016th, and the works so far go on schedule.
Laketic noted that the Law on Construction in Montenegro was quite different compared to other European countries.
“It took us a while to explain to foreign partners how according to our law it should look like a major project. It is a problematic phase in which we are now experiencing”, Laketic added.
He pointed out that the works of CGES in Lastva Grbaljska, in the first part of the project, take the anticipated pace and that we can safely say that they will be completed by the end of 2016th. This project section is being built by Siemens Austria.
The third part of the project is related with the construction of transmission lines from Cevo to Pljevlja and it is implemented by a consortium Energoinvest Sarajevo and Belgrade Elektromontaza.
“The issue of land expropriation, through which should pass transmission line in Montenegro, has been resolved in 98 percent of cases, as we have final decision on expropriation. The study for the access roads to these locations is being prepared now and the story is largely completed”, Laketic said.
According to Laketic, the value of investment projects in our courses carried by CGES is estimated at around 100 MEUR, but may also be smaller because the contracted works are so far cheaper than expected costs. Terna’s investment is estimated at one billion EUR.
Italians are now setting up 140 kilometers of cable under the Adriatic Sea, and by the end of next year should set another 260 kilometers.
“We hope that contractors will respect their deadlines, but also our party, which should provide access to locations and issue licenses and approvals. The mere fact that will open the works for a couple of hundred locations from Primorje to Pljevlja, brings the risk that all works will be completed by the end of 2016th“, Laketic added.
He notes that the Commission for the project coordination with the representatives of the Government, CGES and Terna will check that the dynamics of the works performed during the autumn.
“All our works contractors claim that their job will be done on time, and I indeed hope that this will be so”, said Laketic.
Lower profits of CGES due to the RAE decision
When asked to explain why CGES net profit in the first half of this year amounted to 2.18 MEUR and was 72 percent lower than in the same period last year, when it stood at 7.79 MEUR, Laketić answered:
“On the basis of the decisions of the Regulatory Agency for Energy (RAE) had nearly seven MEUR of extraordinary income CGES in the period from January 1st to July 31st 2014th. This amount of nearly seven MEUR was deducted from us in the next year from the approved regulatory revenue” Laketic explained, noting that the regulatory year does not coincide with the calendar year but runs from August 1st to July 31st.
