Minister of Finance Aleksandar Damjanović and head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) office for Montenegro, Remon Zakaria, signed a guarantee agreement between the two institutions today, with the aim of financing the final phase of the Lastva substation.
The Ministry of Finance announced that an amendment to the loan arrangement agreement between the Montenegrin Electric Transmission System (CGES) and the EBRD was signed for the purpose of financing the project of installing a variable choke in the Lastva substation, in the amount of up to nine million EUR.
The amendment to the loan agreement was signed by the executive director of that company, Ivan Asanović, in front of CGES.
“Having in mind the liquidity and continuous positive results in the operations of CGES, as well as the need to invest in the improvement of the safety of the electrical transmission network, as one of the pillars of the development of the energy sector in Montenegro, Damjanović pointed out that issuing a state guarantee for the mentioned credit arrangement, economically justified by the Law on the budget for this year, as well as by the accompanying decision on borrowing”, the announcement states.
Asanović announced that the expansion of the loan agreement between the company he leads and the EBRD, which was concluded in 2013 with the aim of investing in the transmission network, i.e. the quality and modernization of services, created the basis for the finalization of the TS Lastva project, i.e. the accelerated procurement of variable shunt reactor and connection, which will permanently enable safe operation of the electrical network and interconnection with Italy.
Zakaria said that this is one of a series of successful projects that the bank he represents is implementing with Montenegro, and he expressed expectations that cooperation in all spheres that the EBRD financially supports will be expanded and intensified.
“The amendment to the nine million EUR loan agreement, which was signed today, defines the term of availability of funds until November 15, 2025, and the variable interest rate, which, in accordance with the standard conditions of the EBRD, is the six-month EURIBOR + one percent, with the amendment adding the option of choosing to calculate interest at a fixed interest rate as defined by the standard conditions of the EBRD”, the announcement concludes.
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