Europese lening van 12 miljoen euro voor luchthavens in Servië en Montenegro (en)
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing EUR 12 million to Airports of Montenegro Ltd., the state-owned company, to enable the company to upgrade its infrastructure and equipment and to operate with improved safety and service standards.
The 20-year loan, being made to Serbia and Montenegro, will help finance the new passenger terminal building at Podgorica airport, the extension and repair of its aircraft movement areas and the rehabilitation of the terminal building. The loan will also help extend the terminal building at Tivat airport and support the purchase of fire-fighting, aviation security and ground-handling equipment at both airports. Alongside the EIB's finance is a EUR 11 million loan from the EBRD. Technical cooperation funding in support of this project has been provided by the European Union and France. In addition, the European Agency for Reconstruction and USAID are offering technical assistance to help strengthen the project management within the company and to improve corporate capabilities.
The airports of Podgorica and Tivat have suffered from a lack of proper maintenance and investment during years of economic isolation and as a consequence, their infrastructure and equipment are now in a rather poor condition. During its recent visit to Serbia and Montenegro, EIB's Vice-President Genuardi said that the project focuses on the highest priority needs and that the upgraded infrastructure according to international aviation standards should allow both airports to attract international carriers as regular clients. The modernisation project will thus create an important requisite for the future development of the country, benefiting tourists, businesspeople and local citizens.
Airports of Montenegro is an independently managed company, whose shareholding is 100% in the hands of the Government of Montenegro. It took over the ownership and the operation of the airports of Podgorica and Tivat from Yugoslav Air Transport (JAT) in April 2003.
The EIB has been active in the Balkan countries for several years and is progressively increasing its long term lending in the region. In the late '90s, the EIB received a Mandate to renew operations in the Western Balkan region, as part of the EUR 9.2 billion CEEC Mandate (2000-2007). The primary focus of the EIB in the Western Balkans has been on financing basic infrastructure reconstruction and upgrading, considered a key component in the development of the region. In more recent years, the EIB has complemented its focus on infrastructure with investments to improve human capital and municipal development and with projects designed to stimulate the private sector and SMEs in particular.
The EIB looks forward to a closer integration of the Balkans region and its infrastructure with the European Union, as confirmed under the conclusions of the Thessaloniki Summit of June 2003.
For further information, please contact the EIB's Information and Communications Department:
Ms Helen Kavvadia, tel.: +352 4379 3146, fax: +352 4379 3189 h.kavvadia@eib.org
For further information on the EIB's activities in the Western Balkans, the projects signed and in the pipe-line,
please visit the EIB's website in the section dedicated to the Western Balkan Countries: