The Montenegro-Italy submarine power cable has been deployed under an investment that will enable Montenegro to become an energy hub for the Balkan countries, said Terna CEO Luigi Ferraris, adding that the commencement of commercial use is planned by the end of the year.
On the occasion of the successful completion of the 445-kilometer submarine cable project, an investment of EUR 1.15 billion, Ferraris has met with Montenegrin Prime Minister Duško Marković and Montenegrin President Milo Đukanović. The 600 MW submarine cable has been installed at depths of more than 1,000 meters.
Ferraris said that the cable would create conditions for attracting other investments, including in renewable energy sources, the energy sector and digitization. The largest project of its kind in the Mediterranean has already brought more than EUR 600 million to local businesses in Montenegro, he said.
Prime Minister Duško Marković informed Terna’s management that several countries of Eastern and Southeastern Europe have already expressed interest in reaching various arrangements with Montenegro in order to use the cable. This kind of cooperation was also the focus of the talks held in Podgorica between Bulgaria’s Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova and Montenegro’s Economy Minister Dragica Sekulić.
The two sides have agreed to establish a bilateral working group for energy cooperation, which will also consider the possibility of exporting electricity from Bulgaria via the submarine cable. Due to the commencement of the commercial use of the power interconnector, Montenegro anticipates electricity transit in 2019to increase almost 70%. The submarine cable was originally supposedto be completed in 2015and to have an installed capacity of 1.2 GW.
(novinite.com)
