Public debt of 3,2 billion, the Government can also borrow for a forgotten loop

At the end of this year, the public debt of Montenegro will amount to 3,2 billion euros or about 70,9 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), announced the director general of the Directorate for Economic Policy in the Ministry of Finance, Iva Vuković.

She stated that the state debt is 3,1 billion or 68 percent of GDP, and the rest refers to the debt of local governments. These are the data from the autumn analysis of macroeconomic trends, which was adopted by the Government yesterday. They expect that in the next three years there will be a reduction in public debt and that it will amount to 2021 percent of GDP in 60.

"When it comes to risks that could threaten economic growth in the coming period, these are primarily risks on the international market. The movement of oil prices and unstable geopolitical situations can significantly determine borrowing and financial conditions for Montenegro", said Vuković.

She stated that Montenegro is at an advantage because it borrowed this year and left around 180 million euros as a deposit for the next year. The growth of the economy is based on public investments, which last year amounted to 1,1 billion euros, and this year they were 1,5 billion. The results were contributed by the growth of income from tourism of 8,3 percent.

A decision was also adopted to borrow 370 million euros from Montenegro in the next year. Director of the treasury Dragan Darmanović said that 190 million refers to the financing of budget obligations, the capital budget and debt repayment, and 180 million to the construction of the highway.

The decision left open the possibility that the Government could borrow up to 250 million more for debt refinancing in an arrangement with the World Bank, which, as stated by Darmanović, conditioned its support on the fulfillment of the reform program.

There is also room for larger debt for the construction of the highway section up to the amount needed to complete the works. For the "forgotten loop" and other facilities on the highway, according to the negotiations the government is conducting with the contractor, the Chinese company CRBC, it will take 80 to 120 million euros.