Power cable between Montenegro and Italy is one of the largest and most important investments in the energy sector of the country in recent years. Italian company “Terna” will thus get access to energy from the Balkans. What Montenegro gets from everything? And is there a basis in the claims of civic organizations that the whole project was made not transparent and that it will affect the ecology of the state?
About 860 MEUR, two-year construction and the coast of Italy will not be far away. And 375 kilometers of undersea cable, capacity of 1,000 MW, will make Montenegro an important hub of the region with a strong transmission network. So they say in the Montenegrin Government.
– The construction of a submarine cable will significantly strengthen the network and we will be able to connect all these facilities, and direct benefit is 10-40 MEUR of fees that we are going to get – said Miodrag Canovic, Minister of Economy of Montenegro.
Italian Terna invests 760 MEUR in the construction of the cable, and CGES Montenegro TSO whose Terna is a shareholder, in the renovation of the existing network will invest another 100 MEUR. Therefore, it receives 20 percent of capacity and revenue on the cable.
Not enough, says NGO MANS. Contract, they say, protects the interests of Italy, where the cable is only for pulling of electricity while Montenegrin citizens will pay the price of that.
– When you cancel out your own right and you warrant alleged strategic investor, then you can call it protectionism, not otherwise. It is undisputed that an investment of 200 MEUR will increase our electricity bills, the famous item of return on invested funds – claim Ines Mrdovic from MANS.
As it was written in portal Energetika.ba, undersea cable should be built from Pescara to Budva Jaz bay, then through underground to the site Blato in Lastva Grbaljska, where the power station should be built, and then through Cevo with overhead lines, Niksic and Savnik municipalities to Pljevlja.
On the overhead road it passes through the National Park “Durmitor” and “Lovcen” which, according to environmentalists, it is devastating nature.
– The cable disrupts the visual appearance of the area and on the other hand noise and disturbance that can happen during construction within the protected areas will be important because we’re talking about strictly protected areas in which there have special modes of behavior and conduct – said Jelena Marojevic from organization Green Home.
Branimir Gvozdenovic, Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism of Montenegro, responds that this project met all the standards of the EU.
Start of works on cable is awaiting for approval of Croatia whose territory it attaches and who announced that it would be given in the following year when they finish oil and gas exploration in their waters.
Source; Serbia Energy See desk
