Spajić: Japanese company Itochu eyes Montenegro’s waste-to-energy project

Prime Minister of Montenegro Milojko Spajić said an incinerator of up to 50 MW is about to be built, resolving the municipal waste management issue. He added that Itochu from Japan is interested in the investment.

Following a public call for a feasibility study for a waste-to-energy facility in Podgorica, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić said Montenegro would soon build the first incineration plant. It will enable up to 50 MW of renewable energy from waste, sorting out the matter of municipal waste management in accordance with the European Union’s directives and in an environmentally friendly way, in his words.

The public-private partnership will facilitate the construction of an incinerator for the capital city, but it would also be an option for other municipalities, according to Spajić. The prime minister revealed that Japan-based engineering giant Itochu is among the companies interested in the project.

Deponija, the utility in charge of waste management in Podgorica, launched the public call in September. The contract was awarded last month to a consortium of local firms Vatreks Rescue CG and Medix, and Slovenia-based GP sistemi.

A consortium has won the contract for the feasibility study for the incineration facility in Podgorica

They are due to deliver the documentation within two months. The job is worth EUR 435,600 including value-added tax.

There was no indication in the project task about the preferred technology for the incinerator. Such facilities are usually cogeneration plants, combined heat and power (CHP).

In the Western Balkans, there is only one municipal waste incinerator that recovers energy. It is located in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Utilizing waste to generate energy is a component of the waste management hierarchy. Incinerators are present all over Europe.

Podgorica’s waste utility Deponija runs the city’s landfill. It already captures biogas, but it flares it without utilizing the energy.

Executive director Aleksandar Božović said the firm would soon obtain the licenses and documentation to build a biogas power plant. The study has been completed, and Deponija is working to secure a grant from an international financial institution, he asserted.

Of note, public enterprise Možura has just launched the trial operation of a 0.99 MW biogas power plant at its landfill near the port city of Bar.