The Spaniards began to work near Chev

The Spanish company Iberbrola engineering, which is working on the second part of the transmission line, on the stretch from Lastva Grbaljska to Čevo, is already on the ground. Access roads are being built in the Resna region (between Čevo and Cetinje) and we hope that this work will be completed soon, Dragan Laketić, president of the board of directors of the Montenegrin electricity transmission system, told "Vijesta".

This transmission line is part of the energy connection project between Italy and the Balkans. An underwater cable is being built to Jaz and then a transmission line to Pljevlja. CGES is in charge of the works on the Montenegrin territory, and the Italian Terna is responsible for the underwater cable. After the state, Terna is the second largest shareholder in CGES. The entire project should be completed by the end of 2016, and the work is going according to plan so far.

Laketić noted that the Law on Construction in Montenegro is quite different compared to other European countries.

"We needed time to explain to foreign partners what the main project should look like according to our law. This is the problematic phase that we have now encountered," added Laketić.

He pointed out that the works of the CGES in Lastva Grbaljska, in the first part of the project, are proceeding according to schedule and that it can be said with certainty that they will be completed by the end of 2016. This part of the project is being built by Siemens Austria.

The third part of the project relates to the construction of the transmission line from Čevo to Pljevlje and is being implemented by the consortium of the Sarajevo company Energoinvest and the Belgrade-based Elektromontaža.

"The issue of expropriation of the land through which the future power line should pass in Montenegro has been resolved in 98 percent of the cases, as far as we have legally binding decisions on expropriation. Now the development of studies for access roads to those locations is underway, and that story is largely over," said Laketić. .

According to Laketić, the value of the investment works on our side performed by CGES is estimated at around 100 million euros, but it may be lower because the works contracted so far are cheaper than the expected costs. Terna's investment is estimated at one billion euros.

The Italians have so far laid 140 kilometers of cable under the Adriatic Sea, and by the end of next year they need to lay another 260 kilometers.

"We hope that the contractors will respect their deadlines, as well as our side, which should provide access to the locations and issue permits and approvals. The very fact that works will be opened at several hundred locations, from Primorje to Pljevlje, poses a risk as to whether all works will be completed by the end of 2016," added Laketić.

He notes that the Project Coordination Commission, which includes representatives of the Government, CGES and Terna, will check the dynamics of the works during the fall.

"All our contractors claim that they will finish their work on time, and I hope that it will really be the case," said Laketić.

Due to RAE's decisions, lower profit of CGES

When asked to explain why the net profit of the Montenegrin electric transmission system in the first half of this year amounted to 2,18 million euros and was 72 percent less compared to the same period last year, when it amounted to 7,79 million euros, Laketić answered:

"In the period from January 1 to July 31, 2014, based on the decision of the Energy Regulatory Agency (RAE), CGES had almost seven million euros in extraordinary income. That amount of almost seven million was deducted from the approved regulatory income the following year," explained Laketić, noting that the regulatory year does not coincide with the calendar year, but lasts from August 1 to July 31.