June 08, 2018 - At the last government’s session, the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Regional Development Strategy of Montenegro was adopted for 2018.
For the implementation of Regional Development Strategy of Montenegro, which takes place between 2014 and 2020, in 2018, the planned investments are estimated at 794.891.344 EUR, of which the largest part will be directed to the northern region – a total of 418.942.720 EUR, said the Director of Directorate for Development in the Ministry of Economy of Montenegro, Miloš Čelanović.
At the press conference after government’s session, Čelanović said that in the structure of sources of finance, besides credits, EU funds, private investments, donations and funds gathered through local government budgets, the dominant source of financing is coming from state's budget – 41% of the total investment.
“Within these funds, the largest investment refers to the continuation of the construction of the Bar-Boljare highway, especially the Smokavac-Mataševo part, which in 2018 is estimated at 199.273.000 EUR,” Čelanović said.
When asked about allocation of the resources through Montenegrin regions, Čelanović noted that 53% is for the Northern region, 24% for the Central region and 23% for the Southern region.
“I would like to note that the mentioned investments for this year are planned on the basis of inputs received from all of the local governments, nine ministries, three directorates, the Employment Agency and the Investment and Development Fund of Montenegro. This data features projects that are about to be implemented in 2018, while the Ministry of Economy of Montenegro insisted on getting the data for the projects that are already taking place in the current year, in order to get a realistic plan and image that the level of the realization of such a project is high,” said Čelanović.
He explained that the Action Plan for 2018 was organized around three key development priorities at the national level, which is also defined by the Strategy for the Regional Development – Achieving smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, which are further organized through a sectoral approach, or through further improvement of priority areas for the developments of Montenegro.
“It is also important to note that in recent years, more and more funds have been allocated for smart growth activities, primarily for strengthening the competitiveness of the economy, which is in line with the recommendation for the improvement of regional development policy. For this year, the amount that is meant for development of this direction is in the amount of 30% of the total planned investments,” said Čelanović.
