Montenegro’s high water losses are turning utility efficiency into one of the country’s largest infrastructure opportunities, as the government seeks fresh World Bank financing for a programme that could eventually reach around €200 million.
A financing application disclosed on Sept. 29 shows Montenegro seeking about $39.84 million for the first phase of its Water Security and Climate Adaptation programme.
The broader programme is expected to run through the mid-2030s and cover water-network rehabilitation, sewer expansion, rural systems and wastewater infrastructure.
The commercial opportunity is amplified by poor operating efficiency.
Average non-revenue water is estimated at around 68% nationally, meaning much of the water entering municipal systems is lost through leaks, inaccurate metering or unbilled consumption.
That creates demand for smart metering, leak detection, pressure management, hydraulic modelling, pumps, wastewater technology and utility-management software.
Reducing losses can effectively increase available supply without requiring equivalent investment in new water sources.
It can also improve utility finances by increasing the proportion of produced water that generates revenue.
The programme is expected to include digital performance monitoring, giving technology providers a role alongside conventional civil contractors.
Utilities will increasingly need network data showing where water enters the system, where it is consumed and where losses occur.
That shifts part of infrastructure spending towards sensors, software and asset-management platforms.
Wastewater is another major gap, with less than half of generated volumes currently treated.
That could support investment in treatment plants, pumping systems and environmental monitoring alongside drinking-water networks.
The World Bank is expected to consider the first financing phase later this year.
For contractors, the larger opportunity is likely to emerge over several investment cycles rather than one tender.
At a 68% water-loss rate, Montenegro’s cheapest new source of water may increasingly be the water it can stop losing.
