09 January 2019 - In the last three years, operators invested around 250 million EUR in electronic communications, said CEO of the Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services, Darko Grgurović.

He thinks that the trend of the positive development of this sector was continued, both in the context of infrastructure and provision of services.

“Investment volume in the last couple of years was higher than the third of total revenues of this sector. For comparison, in the EU states, investments at an annual level range from 12-15% of the revenue in the electronic communications sector,” says Grgurović.

He said that 117 million EUR was invested in 2016, that is, 50,8% of the total revenue of the sector. In 2017, there was around 82 million EUR of investments. Last year 44,8 million EUR were invested, and around 33,7 million EUR are planned for this year. Considering that the greatest operators at the Montenegrin market operate within the world-famous and regional telecommunication groups, it can be stated that they are stable and that a predictable regulatory framework that guarantees further development of the market has been established.

“Montenegro is recognized as a state with favourable business environment, that is improving with years. With NATO accession and with continuous progress in the European integration, Montenegro became even more attractive for the investors in all fields,” said Grgurović.

Huge investments in the sector of electronic communications led to increasing int he number of connections, quality and reduction in service prices.

“Increase in the number of connections caused penetration of the broadband Internet access by 73,4% concerning the number of households. Judging by this indicator, Montenegro came closer to the EU states regarding penetration average which amounted 75% at the end of 2017,” said Grgurović.

By degree of mobile networks signal coverage, Montenegro can be compared to the most developed states of Europe. All the three operators provide 99% of GSM coverage. All these indicators point out the continuous development of technologies and the accessibility of the most contemporary services.

Montenegrin Electronic Communication Operators have invested in the Montenegrin market more than 500 million EUR in the past ten years. Also, the Agency built five facilities for the control and monitoring of radio-frequency spectre, main measurement and control centre, regional measurement and control centre and three remote measurement and control stations in Pljevlja, Rožaje and Kotor.

10 January 2019 - “Qualifying for the European Championship represents a result that, for us, is just as good as a medal,” stated the President of the Volleyball Federation of Montenegro Cvetko Pajković in an interview for the News Agency TVCG.

Montenegro's volleyball players will, for the first time, play in a big competition after their recent victory in the sixth round of the Group C qualification for the European Championship against the Moldova team with the result 3-0 (25:18 25:21 25:13).

The 2019 Men's European Volleyball Championship will be the 31st edition of the Men's European Volleyball Championship, organised by Europe's governing volleyball body, the CEV. For the first time the EuroVolley will be held in four different countries; Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Slovenia. The tournament will run from September 13 to September 29, 2019. The number of national teams participating in the event will also be expanded from 16 to 24.

"This is a great result. We all wanted to finish the qualification cycle in this way - to play the last game for qualification at home and win against Moldova to secure our place in the European Championship for the first time," said Pajković.

“To us, the qualifications for the European Championship is a result equal to a medal. The significance of this result is apparent, especially since up to this year the European Volleyball Confederation limited the European Championship to 16 national teams, and our selection was always one step away from qualification," Pajković explained. He said that Montenegrin national team was fortunate that the CEV expanded the number of participants from 16 to 24: "We took advantage of the first chance and the first expanded qualifications. I am sure that our team would secure their place in the Championship even before, had the qualification system been expanded.”

The company Voli Trade, owned by Dragan Bokan, bought two parcels of the former factory "Radoje Dakić" for EUR 5.65 million, where he plans to build the most modern hypermarket in this part of Europe, according to “Dnevne novine.” Yesterday, Voli said that the bankruptcy administration of the factory confirmed the purchase of 19,960 square meters.

"Today we received information that a decision was made confirming our purchase of a part of the land of the former factory Radoje Dakić," said Voli trade.

One of the largest retail chains in Montenegro will also build a shopping center on the premises of the former factory. 

"We plan to build a state-of-the-art hypermarket in this part of Europe, as well as a shopping center with an exclusive offer, a new and modern trading concept. We also plan to build a new administrative building," said the company. 

At the opening of bids at the Commercial Court at the end of December last year, Mladen Markovic, the bankruptcy administrator of "Radoje Dakic", said that Voli trade was the only interested bidder in the fourth tender, at which the remaining assets of the company were sold at an initial price of almost 45 million euros. The property was first offered for 66.5 million euros, the second time for 60 million and the third for 49 million euros. 

"Voli delivered an offer for the purchase of 10,060 square meters for 2.85 million, while for the remaining 9,900 meters, it offered EUR 2.8 million," Markovic stated at the Commercial Court, adding that the company offered 13 euros more than the initial advertised prices. The factory "Radoje Dakic" from Podgorica has been bankrupt since 2016 due to a tax debt of 10.7 million euros.

Text by Dnevne novine, on January 10th, 2019, read more at CdM

Podgorica Airport was opened on Wednesday night, and traffic has been normalized and is taking place in accordance with the plans, as reported to CdM by the PR of Montenegro Airports Milica Babic.

"Everything is operating as normal, except that Turkish Airlines canceled a flight from Istanbul," Babic said.

Montenegro Airlines flew to Belgrade and Vienna Thursday morning and is the only company that carried out flights from Podgorica airport yesterday.

Last night, at 9.13 p.m. Montenegro Airlines flew to Belgrade, and at 10.28 p.m. an Air Serbia plane landed, also from Belgrade," Babic said. 

As she added, at 3.13 a.m. a plane from Tel Aviv landed with the basketball players of Buducnost. Let's recall, the airport was closed due to storms and snow, and it was reopened for air traffic Wednesday night at 7 pm.

Text by Ž.N., on January 10th, 2019, read more at CdM

On Tuesday, January 15th, the implementation of the Vocational Training Program for university graduate students begins. The seventh generation, out of 3,298 graduates, through the two liaison circuits, chose an employer for vocational training.

As announced from the Employment Agency of Montenegro, employers offered a total of 11,007 jobs this year, out of which 4,103 are in the private sector and 6,904 in the public sector. More than two-thirds of the offered work positions remained vacant.

The interest of graduate students for the private and public sector is almost equal. With private employers, 1,697 university students will be trained, and 1,601 in the public sector.

During the application period for university students, there were 3,600 college students without work experience in the Employment Agency records.

Let’s recall, through the program of vocational training for persons with faculty education, through the sixteen previous cycles more than 20,000 university students passed. Professional training of participants lasts nine months and is recognized as a work experience of 12 months and as a condition for taking the appropriate professional exam with a university degree.

Up to now, about 52 million euros have been allocated for the implementation of vocational training programs.

According to the analysis carried out by the Ministry of Education, in cooperation with the Tax Administration, about 50 percent of users after completing the Vocational Training Program continue their work engagement with the same or another employer.

Text by CdM, on January 10th, 2019, read more at CdM

January 10, 2019 - Within the jubilee 50th Mimosa Festival in Herceg Novi, the NGO Great Bokelian Fest organizes the Olive, Wine, and Healthy Food Fair in Bijela from 8 to 11 February.

Snow started falling in Podgorica in the evening around 11 p.m., and the capital was covered with snow Wednesday morning. 

There is snow in almost all of Montenegro, mostly in Zabljak where 47 centimeters were measured.

In Kolašin there is a snow layer of 32 centimeters, in Pljevlja 28, in Šavnik 26, and Rožaje 23. The snow did not bypass Niksic, where it measured 18 centimeters.

In Pluzine the snow layer is 12 centimeters, in Berane and Andrijevica 10, in Bijelo Polje nine, and in Cetinje eight centimeters.

In Podgorica, the thickness of the snow cover is seven centimeters, while on the coast the snow fell in Ulcinj and the Bay of Kotor. Snow did not bypass Virpazar.

On the coast, it will be rainy, and in the morning in the southeast, there will be sleet and snow.

During the day, in the lower regions of the south, the snow will turn into sleet and rain.

More intense rainfall is expected in some places.

Text by A.G., on January 9th 2019, read more at CdM

Tourist workers in Zabljak are satisfied with the visits during the New Year's holidays. Director of Savin Kuk ski resort, Milutin Tomić does not hide his pleasure and emphasizes that record turnout was recorded during the holidays.

"Every day, during the New Year's holidays, we had from one thousand to one thousand and a half visitors, both skiers and visitors who used our catering facilities. These are mostly guests from Montenegro, but we also had guests from Albania, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Germany," said Tomić to Info Biro.

The manager of the ski trail Javorovača Nikola Rondović agreed with him.

"The ski center Javorovača recorded good visits over these days. There is enough snow. As for the New Year and Christmas holidays, there was a good turnout, and the capacities were fully booked. We have mostly domestic guests and family people. For the New Year's holidays, there were guests from Dubrovnik who came here for the fifth year in a row," said Rondović.

The National restaurant Crno jezero is a place where you can try traditional local cuisine throughout the whole year.

The manager of the restaurant Crno jezero, Dragan Papić, does not hide his pleasure as well. "As far as the winter tourist season is concerned, we are mostly satisfied. The attendance is high, both for New Year and Christmas holidays, and we still have a lot of guests," Papić said.

The manager of hotel Zabljak Dragana Obradovic says this year's visit is better than last year's.

"As for the holidays, there was a huge attendance. As for the current period, we are also happy with the visits. For now, we have more domestic than foreign guests, and the reason is probably that the school break is still on in Montenegro and these are mostly families," she said.

Text by Info Biro, on January 8th 2019, read more at CdM

Archaeologist Omer Peročević has been trying to revive the Old Town Bar for almost four decades. He has fought for the future of the museums, for years exploring the past of the ancient city, finding traces in ruins to build a picture of the life that took place in this area. In this constant endeavor, he came up with an idea to restore the old stone bridge on Suvi Potok (Pero’s bridge).

One of the five historic bridges built at a distance of about 800 meters, which is a unique rarity, a stone bridge on Suvi Potok, beneath the walls of Old Town of Bar, was reconstructed at the end of December. In order to protect the natural and cultural heritage, the Association of olive growers Bar was pleased to accept the proposal of archaeologist Peročević to jointly renovate and preserve the old bridge on Suvi (Pero’s bridge).

"About 40 years I have been fighting for the future, and the past of the Old Town, in which, unfortunately, there are mostly remains of ruins. The Old Town is unique, its surroundings dramatic, this geological landscape and what the man has made in this area. The bridge on Suvi potok is the entrance gate to the natural museum of olive, culture and religion. The significance of the bridge was introduced to us by an unknown founder, who made a legacy so that it can be passed beneath the walls of Old Town to the area where there are almost 10,000 olive trees, of which about 1,000 trees are older than 1,000 years old. At the end of the 17th century, the stone bridge was the only possible route in this area for people and livestock, because in that period the olive groves were continuously treated," says archaeologist Peročević for the Portal Jedro Bar.

photo: Jedro Bar

According to the archaeologist, in the slope beneath the Old Town, from Bar Spil to Veliki most, there were as many as 10 bridges on the canyon of the Mikulić River.

"Five of them are preserved. The stone bridge on Suvi Potok was sloping, prone to falling, neglected and barely visible. Fortunately, the stone barriers that were made in the 1960s, partly saved it because they reduced this torrential strike, otherwise it would be destroyed. Today, only one of the 10 bridges kept its original form, carrying the central arch with its elevation in the middle. By renewing it we have prolonged its age, as any old being that looks for care and attention. It brings me great joy knowing we have managed to save the bridge," says Omer.

In addition to the stone from this space, the spontaneous opus of building was repeated.

"We were guided by the principles of restoration and conservation as far as possible, but it was a problem to find proper craftsmen. Luck followed us from the beginning, funds were provided from the Tourist Organization of Bar, those 4,000 euros, but we were also happy with the contractor Suvad Osmanovic, who surpassed all my expectations, although I was skeptical from the beginning. However, I am very grateful to him. You know, you can have an idea, a project you want, but when you do not have a proper "hand" that realizes what you have imagined, then the whole story becomes worthless," says the archeologist.

photo: Jedro Bar

The story of the members of the Olive Tree Society, he adds, was a constructive one.

"We have managed to accomplish this work with common energy and cooperation. The guys from the Society added a cultural dimension to the olive cultivation. Olive is not only a sign of Bar, a cultural and natural phenomenon but a culture that allows people in this region to live for more than 2,000 years. Through these works, we reveal to the citizens of Bar and tourists, a beautiful, exciting ambience, and on the other hand, our present-day activities are a debt to our ancestors, the heritage they have given us. Olive growing, the walk through the olive groves, offers perfect peace, a kind of therapy," Peročević pointed out.

You can now get to Dzidzarins’ olive groves across the Old Stone Bridge. The length of the bridge is twenty meters, and its width in the middle is slightly more than two meters.

A shorter bridge with more names rarely exists in this area - Old bridge on Suvi Potok, Pero’s Bridge, Love Bridge ... Anyway, no matter what it is called, the bridge was bounced from decaying and remained to testify to the generations to come.

"The whole move towards Rumija is called Pero’s Potok. Mountains in the slope of Rumija are fields, gardens, springs, some call it Pero’s Gardens. It is true that they call the bridge on Suvi Potok - Pero’s Bridge. Someone would ask - what is the purpose of a bridge when the stream is dry? The brook is dry for seven - eight months, but when the "sky" falls over Rumija the torrential torment carries everything in front of you. The torrent destroyed a part of the bridge, so people, by building bulkheads, reduced the power of the torrents," said the interlocutor to Jedro and jokingly said that the bridge "guarded" the honor in the past.

It has long been said that bridges are the most noble buildings that man has made. How much is the burden transmitted over bridges, how much energy is built into construction, how much work to bring the stone, to restore it... enthusiasm that today the stone bridge has a credible appearance. It is pure benevolence to save the bridge," concluded the archaeologist who as only few others, knows the life and soul of Old Bar.

Text by Jedro Bar, on January 8th 2019, read more at CdM

09 January 2019 - Montenegrin tennis player Danka Kovinić reached the second round of the Australian Open qualifiers in Melbourne.

In order to qualify for the second round, Kovinić beat Liu Fangzhou from China 6:1 7:5. It took her one hour and fourteen minutes to reach victory in this match.

The twenty-four-year-old will now have to face Hungarian player Fanny Stollár, who eliminated Zhang Yuxuan 4:6 6:4 6:4.

The women’s singles qualifying for Australian Open runs from Tuesday 8 January – Friday 11 January 2019.

Kovinić currently takes the 174th place on the WTA list of the best players in the world.

Danka Kovinić is a Montenegrin professional tennis player from Herceg Novi and a member of the Montenegrin Fed Cup team. She started playing professionally in 2010. Her first WTA singles tournament was the 2013 Budapest Grand Prix, where Kovinić became the first ever Montenegrin to reach the quarterfinals of a WTA event. On 22 February 2016, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 46, while her best doubles ranking, No. 68, was achieved on 6 June 2016.

Read more information about Kovinić at her Australian Open Official Profile.