Chinese firms show interest in Montenegrin port, railway

BELGRADE - A number of Chinese companies have shown their interest in investing in Montenegrin port and railway, according to reports on Thursday.

Montenegrin Minister of Transport and Shipping Ivan Brajovic met on Wednesday with representatives of the Chinese companies, according to the ministry wedsite.

China Railway Signal and Communication Shanghai, China Communications Construction Company International and China Railway Fifth Survey & Design Institute Group showed interest in investing in Montenegrin Port of Bar, and in reconstruction of 476 km long railway from Bar to Serbian capital Belgrade.

The ministry added that delegation of Consortium will inspect the state of Belgrade-Bar railway and give suggestions to both Montenegrin and Serbian governments.

Belgrade-Bar railway started building in 1966 and was open for transport in 1976 with 301 km of it belonging to Serbia, and 175 km to Montenegro.

During the 1990s the railway deteriorated a lot, due to no funding and UN economic sanctions, prohibiting trade with former Yugoslavia, and Port of Bar is today operating with a financial loss and much below its designed capacity.

As Montenegrin market is too small to fully utilize the port's capacity and make it profitable, much of its economic future depends on better connections with Serbian and central European markets, via the building of Belgrade-Bar motorway and the proposed reconstruction of Belgrade-Bar railway.