Under a bilateral agreement, the United States Embassy in Montenegro and the Ministry of Public Works of Montenegro invited US companies to express interest in strategic infrastructure project Adriatic-Ionian Corridor and the National Serviced Integrated Cargo Scanning and Border Control Modernization Project. The former would consist of a motorway, a section of the Adriatic-Ionian Pipeline for gas and a telecommunications component.
The governments of the United States and Montenegro signed an Intergovernmental Agreement on Cooperation for the Implementation of Strategic Projects a month ago. With the start of implementation, the US Embassy and the Ministry of Public Works in Podgorica invited American companies to express interest in participating in the development of the Adriatic–Ionian Corridor, and the National Serviced Integrated Cargo Scanning and Border Control Modernization Project.
For both calls, the deadline for responses is September 7. The bilateral framework is intended for long-term economic cooperation in areas including infrastructure, energy, security, and technology.
Earlier this year, US construction company Bechtel submitted the only valid application, under a similar call for expressions of interest, for the Đerdap 3 pumped storage hydropower project in Serbia.
Motorway investment estimated at EUR 2.8 billion
The Government of Montenegro envisions the Adriatic-Ionian Corridor as a link with neighboring countries, combining transportation, energy and digital infrastructure.
The concept includes a 127-kilometer motorway, with an estimated construction value of EUR 2.8 billion. The planned section of the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) would be 74 kilometers long. Telecommunications infrastructure would be within the corridor.
The integrated approach is intended to coordinate route selection, land acquisition, construction and infrastructure planning while strengthening connections with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the wider Adriatic-Ionian region, the notice reads.
The future motorway, A2, is from the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina at Nudo to the border with Albania at Sukobin. It partly combines with the Bar-Boljare motorway, A1.
Links between borders with Albania, BiH, Croatia
Montenegro currently has no operational natural gas transmission or distribution
infrastructure and no established natural gas market. IAP is the principal cross-border gas transmission project, conceived as a bidirectional pipeline connecting the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) at Fier in Albania with gas systems to the north.
While the original concept envisaged a connection with the Croatian gas
transmission system in the Split area, the future route configuration should assess the most appropriate connection toward BiH and (or) Croatia. IAP would be fully equipped for hydrogen.
The pipeline would have an 800-milimeter diameter. The initial annual capacity in Montenegro is seen at half a billion cubic meters, compared to five billion for the entire 511-kilometer IAP.
Integrating motorway with gas pipeline
As a new planning option, the Ministry of Energy and Mining proposed that the next phase examine whether the domestic route could follow the motorway.
In parallel, Montenegro is assessing the potential for an import terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a combined-cycle gas-fired power plant in the area of the port city of Bar. The project is currently at the feasibility assessment stage, developed in cooperation with Japan-based JERA.
The LNG-to-power project and IAP should be treated as separate but potentially complementary
The planned combined-cycle gas-fired power plant would be supplied directly through the associated LNG terminal and would therefore not represent anchor demand for IAP, the document notes. The LNG-to-power project and IAP should be treated as separate but potentially complementary, according to the announcement.
The Government of Montenegro is not obligated to choose any US company provided in the list of interested companies, the notice reads.
