The City of Podgorica has signed a EUR 4.7 million agreement on public lighting reconstruction with Slovenia’s Javna Razsvetljava, the leader of the Nova Energija consortium. The public lighting modernization project will reduce the system’s electricity consumption by 80%, according to a statement from the city authorities.

The agreement was signed by public utility services company Komunalne Usluge and representatives of the Slovenian company Igor Hržić and Marko Dimkovski.

According to earlier reports, Nikšić-based Ramel was part of the Nova Energija consortium that filed the winning bid. The tendering procedure was launched in December 2016, followed by deadline extensions and bidder complaints.

The project’s projected value has been decreased by EUR 2 million, said Deputy Mayor Časlav Vešović.

“One of the reasons for this is the tightening of tendering terms, which helped obtain equipment that will enable 80% electricity savings,” he said.

Vešović recalled that the city had been paying high electricity bills for public lighting, noting that the installation of new LED equipment will secure significant savings, out of which the debt to the partner will be serviced.

“In this way, we are contributing to energy efficiency and continuing work on the modernization of infrastructure and the application of modern smart solutions,” Vešović said.

At the same time, the city is preparing project documentation together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the second phase of public lighting modernization, referring to the city center and Podgorica’s urban areas.

The first phase of modernization entails the replacement of 11,750 lamps with LED lights in suburban areas.

Hržić, president of the management board at Javna Razsvetljava, said that this is the company’s most significant project in the past 10 years. Over the next five years, Javna Razsvetljava seeks to become a leader in public lighting replacement in the region, according to him.

For his part, Popović said that the project to reconstruct and modernize public lighting is very important, not only on the local level, but also on state level, as significant electricity savings is envisaged.