PKCG: Public-private partnership in Montenegro is not yet sufficiently represented

Public-private partnership, which offers multiple benefits, is not yet sufficiently represented in Montenegro, said the president of the Chamber of Commerce (PKCG), Nina Drakić.

"For the implementation of this type of contract, a harmonized legal, regulatory and political framework is a necessity and one of the conditions for attracting foreign investments", said Drakić at the round table on public-private partnership as a chance to valorize Montenegro's potential, which was realized in PKCG.

She added that the experiences of EU countries and the region show that the selection of public-private partnership projects should be based on comprehensive and systemic analyses, with appropriate risk assessment, and that projects at the local level must be harmonized with spatial plans of the local government.

"Successfully realized projects show that the application of public-private partnership led to more efficient services of public companies and improvement of technologies, modernization of production processes and adoption of new quality standards by the private sector. In this way, the private sector improves competitiveness, the return on investments can be higher, and easier access to finance is enabled," said Drakić.

The director of the Directorate for Public Procurement Policy in the Ministry of Finance, Jelena Jovetić, speaking about the legal framework for public-private partnerships in Montenegro, reminded that the law was adopted in 2019, but that it has not yet taken root in its full capacity due to insufficient practice and new projects.

"When we were preparing the Law on Public-Private Partnership, we had the desire to transfer international practice into it, and to include certain specificities of ours," announced Jovetić.

She stated that the law wanted to ensure the division of rights and risks between the public and private partners.

"We wanted to share the burden of implementing public services with the aim of ensuring their quality, because without them the modality of public-private partnership has no purpose, that is, there are no elements of a good contract and project," said Jovetić.

She stated that the specificity of public-private partnership is the conclusion of a contract for up to 30 years, which is the European standard. She also pointed out that an important segment of every project is the justification analysis.

An important novelty is that the law includes financiers, that is, banks, which is important from the aspect of security, sustainability and finance. Also, it is very important that the regulation leaves the possibility for interested parties to initiate a public-private partnership project with or without concession elements.

"It is of fundamental importance, because it gives space for each of us to take the initiative and participate in the process of public-private partnership", said Jovetić and added that the overall purpose of public-private partnership projects is to maintain continuity in the provision of public services. because the goal is to increase their quality for the end user.

The director of the Investment Agency, Mladen Grgić, said that the agency's focus is on the promotion of public-private partnerships.

"In the past six months, we visited all Montenegrin municipalities, that is, potential public contracting parties, where we presented the importance of public-private partnership," Grgić said, adding that the goal of this partnership is to share the risk.

The representative of the law office "Moravčević, Vojnović and partners, in cooperation with Schoenherr", Miloš Laković, presented successful projects and practical experiences in the implementation of public-private partnerships and concessions in Montenegro and the region.

He said that the concept of public-private partnership and concessions has recently become an attractive and desirable way of financing the construction, maintenance and operation of public infrastructure and public services in the region. As examples of good projects through public-private partnership, he mentioned the upcoming construction of underground garages on Nezavisnosti and Božana Vučinić squares in Podgorica, and Vinča Landfill in Belgrade.