Montenegro has approved the next implementation step for a roughly €175 million reconstruction of the Golubovci-Bar railway, advancing one of its largest EU-backed transport projects toward construction.
The government approved a project agreement between the Transport Ministry, Željeznička infrastruktura Crne Gore and the EBRD.
The Western Balkans Investment Framework has allocated €112.62 million in grants, while the wider financing package includes about €63 million in loans.
Works cover around 39.6 km of open track, 17 km of station tracks, 6 km of shunting tracks, up to 10 stations and stops and 11 bridges, as well as signalling, telecommunications and traction-power infrastructure.
The project forms part of the wider rehabilitation of the Bar-Belgrade railway and is commercially important for the Port of Bar, whose regional competitiveness depends heavily on reliable inland rail links.
Bar competes with better-connected Adriatic ports for cargo from Serbia and central Europe. Slow speeds, ageing infrastructure and operational restrictions reduce its logistics advantage.
The unusually high grant component limits Montenegro’s borrowing requirement and illustrates the financing model likely to become increasingly important as the country expands infrastructure spending while managing public debt.
The main risk is now execution.
Montenegro has increasingly secured financing faster than it can complete design, procurement and construction. Similar bottlenecks have affected roads, railways and municipal projects.
The Golubovci-Bar package will therefore test whether Montenegro can convert growing EU financial support into completed infrastructure.
If delivered on schedule, the upgrade could improve freight reliability, support the Port of Bar and strengthen Montenegro’s position on regional transport corridors.
The financing is largely in place. The market question has shifted to how quickly construction can follow.
