The Swiss company "8B Capital" has paid the Electric Power Company of Montenegro (EPCG) 40 thousand euros towards the debt, and the state-owned energy company will wait until the end of the month for a possible payment of the remaining debt.
"We received confirmation of the payment of 40 thousand euros. We will wait another 15 days to see if they will pay the remaining debts and if that happens, then we will have discussions with the company '8B Capital', with which we terminated the contract, about further steps," he told "Vijesti". Miro Vračar, Executive Manager of the EPCG Production functional unit.
These further moves, as "Vijesti" unofficially learns, include the possibility of signing a new lease agreement for the steel mill and forge, on the same basis. If the company "8B Capital" fails to pay its debts based on the lease and wages to its workers, Elektroprivreda will initiate legal proceedings to collect that debt.
The lease agreement, which was signed in July last year, stipulates that EPCG may terminate the agreement if "8B Capital" fails to pay the rent in accordance with the agreement and if it fails to pay within 45 days from the date it received a written notice of non-payment.
"In the event of a dispute between the parties in connection with this contract, the parties will endeavor to resolve the dispute amicably. The parties agree that all disputes arising out of/or in connection with this contract shall be finally resolved under the rules of arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce by three arbitrators. The place of arbitration shall be Geneva - Switzerland," the contract states.
EPCG previously told "Vijesti" that they had issued seven invoices for payment, that the debt for the lease was 223.000 euros plus VAT, and the debt for the transfer of employees was 644.000 euros. "8B Capital" has so far paid only 31.000 euros for the lease and a deposit of 30.000, which was stipulated in the tender.
The tenant was obliged to pay a monthly rent of 31 thousand euros, starting from October 1. As for the number of employees, according to the Contract, they had to take on 150 employees in half a year, and the tenant did not take on any, but the salaries of the employees were paid from EPCG funds, and they were engaged in the construction of solar power plants and concrete blocks. EPCG Željezara Nikšić previously said that the workers in the last quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year were earning salaries. The steel plant has 249 permanent employees and 11 under a temporary contract.
The contract was signed in July 2024 for a period of 50 years, and the company "8B Capital" committed to investing 7,75 million within a year from the date of signing the contract and starting production, while in five years, as stated in the offer, it will invest 36,85 million.
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