Negotiation team is working on financial, technical and legal conditions of the project.
Will the construction on the second block of TE “Pljevlja” start this year and are there fears that the project will be stopped due to the pressure from the public, especially from NGOs who claim that it is not financially sound?
KAVARIĆ: The project of construction of the second block of TE “Pljevlja” is of crucially importance for Montenegro and its electric and energetic system. It has many benefits, such as economic ones, than the matter of warmness in Pljevlja, improved stability and sustainability of energetic system in Montenegro. The construction would fulfill all of the obligations from the Agreement on energetic community, that Montenegro has signed. The significance of such a project for PLjevlja should not be forgotten either, from the point of view of potentials that this municipality has in its reserves of coal, and its people employed in TE and Coal Mine. The benefits of construction are manyfold, especially if we take into account that if there is not a second block built, there will be no stable system and source of electric energy. As far as the pace of the project goes, EPCG has earlier made a contract on construction with company “Škoda“, and a few days ago Stakeholders Assembly has confirmed its readiness to give out a corporate guarantee. All the processes that mark the beginning of construction are almost finalized.
Contracts for exploitation and exploration of oil and gas in the sea are in the Parliament’s procedure. Do you expect the Parliament to support it and when can we expect the beginning of works?
KAVARIĆ: The public is familiar with the drafted contracts, and I think we did a good job protection state’s interests and financial benefits citizens. We implemented the best examples in the world when it comes to environment protection. We expect the Parliament to support these principles and we see no reason for the support to fail. If the Parliament gives the green light, we can expect the beginning of exploration to start shortly thereafter.
When and for which blocks can we expect new contracts for oil and gas?
KAVARIĆ: We defined the fiscal policies and contracts that are standardized, making all potential investors aware of rules of business in this field. From that point, this is the first step in which we have established standards upon which we want to continue this extremely significant process.
Which works on the construction of underwater cable are planned until the end of this year?
KAVARIĆ: Since the beginning of project’s implementation, a series of activities were finalized, such as project planning documentation, construction permits, financial frameworks.. The project is being implemented from both sides of the Adriatic, and the obligation of Montenegro is to invest in its infrastructure. It is a complex and demanding job that has three segments to be implemented on our territory, and they are the construction of TS Lastva, 400 kV power line Lastva Čevo and 400 kV power line Čevo Pljevlja. All three segments are underway, with constructors performing activities. Terna is doing construction on the plateau for convertor plant and works on the part where the underground cable should go. Currently, underwater cable is being produced, and according to the plan, Terna should be done with the research of the seabed by the middle of 2016. Terna has already laid 140 km of the cable.
What do you expect the result of arbitrations initiated against Montenegro to be?
KAVARIĆ: There are three companies who started arbitrations processes and each of them has its own pace. I would not guess the results because they are under courts’ jurisdiction. The attitude of Montenegro’s Government is that all the actions we took were in the framework of the contract and the law, both national and international, and this position we hope to prove during these processes.
