Port privatization in Montenegro - 24.02.2010

Mr. Milutin Mrkonjic the Serbian Minister of Infrastructure, distinctly claims – it is Serbian political interest to have a sea access, but he is convinced it as an economical interest as well for the Serbian industry. Despite the Serbian businessmen have not shown big interest to the Montenegrin Bar Port privatization and to Belgrade-Bar railway reconstruction plans, Miodrag Kostic the owner of MK Group supported by Serbian Premier Mirko Cvetkovic became the promoter of the project, taking the initiative to set up an appointment with the biggest industrial investors in the region and to stay behind the preparation of a technical feasibility study of the Belgrade-Bar railway reconstruction. The owner of East Point company, Mr. Zoran Drakulic states that he moves annually 1, 5 tones of grains and non-ferrous metal goods by the river of Danube to the Romanian Port Constanta. For him it is not rentable to push cargo through Montenegro as the less than 500km route requires an average 13 hours to get to the port, while he has a cheaper and faster arrangement with Constanta Port shipping by the river corridor VII. Miroslav Miskovic as well as the US Steel jumped out after the first session as they see no economical interest in such a big investment, while there is no reliable cost-benefit analysis about the railway corridor. For the Serbian industry such an investment would be too big not to have a negative effect on the domestic market as it would require a huge relocation of assets, while in Serbia is the infrastructure also in a poor state. The Belgrade – Bar route is not listed among the European main corridors because it has no transit potential, henceforth the Montenegrin Government cannot count on European support by IPA founds, only for credits by better conditions in the process of deeper integration to EU structures. For Montenegro it is vital to connect to the main corridors across Belgrade to corridor X and VII as well as to the Belgrade Airport which is the biggest aero hub for passenger and cargo transfer in the region. Montenegro has no capacity to attract industry investors as there are few bigger, better equipped and technically on a higher level operating ports (see table 1.) in the Mediterranean sphere. The port is rather could be attractive for countries without a direct sea exit. According to the Serbian media alluding to the experts of the Belgrade Technical Faculty, 80% of the Suez crossing ships cannot embark into the Bar Port, while Mr. Andrija Radusinovic the director of Container and General Cargo Terminal of Bar Port denies this emphasizing that only the 40 biggest trans-ocean freighter above 12 thousand container load cannot dock in Bar. Anyway it is fact that the landing stage has no adequate depth, which is one of the first and most expensive positions on cost side. Without sinking the harbor pool we cannot speak seriously about connected transport investments, because most of the boat operators not willingly direct their ships to the dangerous dock.
In the same time Montecargo, the state owned railway cargo carrier is on sale as well as the Railway Infrastructure Company (Željeznička infrastruktura Crne Gore) . Italian investors led by their government agreed to finance in part the upgrade Study of the Belgrade – Bar railway line, which should be ready until the end of 2010 in a cooperation of Italferr and CIP Transport Institute. For Italian business is interesting an eventual connection of the South-Italian Bari Port with Bar and Belgrade to Timisoara as there are many Italian manufacturing companies producing in Western Romania. Mladjan Dinkic the Serbian Minister of Economy and Regional Development also insists to realize the project which would be undoubtedly a success also for the Fiat investment in Kragujevac. This would ensure the shortest route to supply the parts to the mill as well as to transport Fiat cars to Italy. However to see a rational context in the whole project we have to look out to the wider region. Next to Serbia there are yet few Central –European countries without a direct sea access. Austria, Czech & Slovakia, Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina also could benefit from a new logistic center. As it is written in the Serbian Foreign Investment Law (2002) and in part regulated by the Railway Law (2005) public assets and infrastructural objects are allowed to be given to concession or to construct in a BOT model. The same rules apply to Montenegrin legislation too.
There could be a synergy connecting Budapest by a state of art railway to Belgrade and to ensure commercial credits for Serbia and Montenegro for the reconstruction southern from Belgrade. The Belgrade railway junction is part of the Russian credit line devoted for the Serbian Railway. From Belgrade to the Croatian border Sid the double track lane is in the best state which is the axis of X corridor in the direction of Zagreb and Ljubljana. While the Branch B runs from Stara Pazova junction across Novi Sad to Budapest. This single rail track from Stara Pazova to Budapest is in a very bad state from both of the Hungarian and Serbian side. This rout leads through Vojvodina in one connecting the two biggest cities in Serbia, Belgrade and Novi Sad, while from Novi Sad through Senta – Horgos line to Szeged (HU) still exists the abandoned for long years not used railway road, which is already listed as one of the track of the planned double track Novi Sad Subotica/Szeged-Budapest route. In Hungary there are no international European routes which pass through Szeged. It makes one of the biggest cities in Hungary to a dead-end while in case of building a divided double track could reintegrate 2 regions, ensuring dual direction passenger traffic on both of the lines, among them connecting Budapest Ferihegy Airport with Belgrade Airport. Meantime the freight traffic between Belgrade and Budapest would be operated as on a standard double track platform. Between Budapest and Bar there are two car plants, opening a south stream alternative could involve other industries on the route, not to mention the potential of intermodal (RO-LA) and container transport.
According to Budapest based ITCB consulting, there is an increasing number of investors from Hungary who are launching businesses both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Montenegro. Montenegro after the Russian investors becomes more interesting also for entrepreneurs from surrounding countries. Buying the port would not only ensure terminals and stores for cargo transfer, but also would give a much wider opportunities to the development of connected transport industry and services, not mentioning the security effect for a developing economy without an own sea exit. Other fact is the general increase of the volume of cargo transport in upcoming years which solely generates grows in case of every port manager in the Adriatic and Black Sea region. As it is underlined in Serbia the State administration alone is not taking part in the tender, only a consortium led by the newly established BB Cargo. The big silent from Austria and other Central European countries however anticipates, that despite all the envisaged investments most probably the project barely becomes profitable or just simply it requires too big investment in a (post)crisis period. It is obvious that Western-Balkan region becomes the part of EU already not so long. Such an input anyway will effect to speed up complex infrastructural projects.


The Bar Port and the Belgrade-Bar Railway line.
The port was built under Tito`s governance to ensure for the Montenegro member Republic an important traffic point in order to lead there stable infrastructure. After the 1979 earthquake almost the whole harbor had to be rebuilt. In former Yugoslav republic it was the smallest cargo seaport and generally used to serve the Serbian export of car, steel and agricultural production. According to the call for public tender for the sale of 54.0527% shares of the company Container Terminal and General Cargo, concession would be awarded for the period of 30 years with the obligation of investing . Originally the deadline to submit application was 1. February, but it has been prolonged to 31.March.
In 1975 the Montenegrin and Serbian electrified single railway tracks (standard gauge,25 kV, 50 Hz AC) were joined near to Kolasin, ensuring an average 90km/h transport speed between the port and Yugoslavian capital city. Nowadays the average speed is under 45km/h due to the lack of maintenance and later upgrades. The 476km long route passes through a difficult mountainous landscape, numbering 254 tunnels and 435 bridges. Technical Study of Upgrade is in preparation. Not officially the whole line reconstruction is estimated on 350 million EUR.

BB Cargo
The Serbian Government in the end of 2009 established the BB Cargo limited liability company, registered for railway cargo transport. The central office is registered in one of the governmental buildings in Belgrade. The paid-in capital is 62.000 EUR. By the decision of the board of directors the capital could be increased and it is decided to take a part in the privatization of Montecargo and Container and General Cargo Terminal of Bar Port. The tender documentation has been paid in amount of 20.000EUR. On the base of media reports the government is allocated 500 million RSD to submit offer as a minority shareholder in a consortium with interested companies.
Table 1. (Cargo traffic in 2009, source: official web sites of the ports)
port cargo type (thousand/T) Constanta (RO) Thessaloniki (GR) Rijeka (HR) Koper (SLO) Bar (MNE)**
general cargo 20.723 3.530 2.650 4.901 1.031
dry bulk cargo 10.418 3.427 3.377 5.575 738
liquid bulk cargo 10.873 8.006 6.364 2.667 452
total 42.014 14.963 12.391* 13.143 2.220*
* 2008 dates
** source: NIN

Serbia and Montenegro: Awaiting for railway liberalization

As the liberalization of the railway market is a prerogative of the free market and democracy, finally we can take a look on Balkans too, due to the democratization process started in year 2000 and as of a pro-EU government has been established this year in Serbia. Bulgaria and Romania as already member states of the European Union had to face with this challenge few years ago. Today they are involving more and more competitors to their market increasing the competition and the quality of services.
Meantime what is happening in Serbia and Montenegro? Why we can not hear about entering of new players on the railway business? Why only those departments are offered to be privatized which have no direct contact with railroad transport? There are yet lot of questions we try to give an answer to have a better overlook about the situation in two former Yugoslavian republics. Today the legislation already offers the base of a competitive market, however the real obstacle is in the monopolistic behavior of ZS (Serbian Railways) and ZCG (Railways of Montenegro).The regulations are defined in “Law of Railways” in Serbia enforced at 1.March.2005, in Montenegro form 1.January 2005. As the law was written and prepared still in the Union of Serbia and Montenegro the final act has almost no differences between the states after peaceful separation.
In both of the states: "infrastructure is, except private sidings, asset in general use, state owned and is available for use, under equal conditions, to all interested operators" (Art.1 MN) It means national railway companies does n`t owe the infrastructure, they have no autonomous right to dispose with it but only have the right to use it as other "interested operators". As so far only national companies owe the Security certificate and License for management of infrastructure, they are the only authorized subjects to deal with assets . State administration does n`t have any independent legal entity to practice its right directly. Therefore restructuring and dividing on infrastructure and passenger parts of the national monopoles would be vital to solve this delicate legal relation.In Serbia municipalities have the right to request management of infrastructure, only if the state exclude those assets from general use, while In Montenegro it is possible to take infrastructure in concession for local as well as international legal entities. (Art 8.MN)Despite the law is on force already more than 3 years, so far any section was not given to municipalities neither in concession. It has his reason in fact that European funds still are not available in that amount which could cover the costs of such capital projects while on the other hand there is no adequate co-ordination between municipalities to take a common action. In Vojvodina Autonomous Province which has an extensive railway network, inherited from the period of Austro-Hungarian Monarchy this law article could allow and give a chance to revitalize big part of the ruined routes closed few decades ago. Most of this routes lost their through route character only due to the changes of the borders after the World War I. By the liberalization of the frontier control between EU (Hungary, Romania) and Serbia private capital can do more than any state policy to connect these regions. For example the “Budapest-Constanta” High Speed rail line project is passing through the Timisoara(RO)-Kikinda(SRB)-Szeged(HU) line, closed after the World War II. .
In Montenegro giving concession to build infrastructure is great chance to move the railway sector. The country has year by year biggest investments in real estates on the seaside however big potential has the Port in Bar too, which has a constant grow of traffic mainly in container loading.

The transport management is available without limitation if the subject fulfill basic requirements. "Infrastructure may be used by an operator for public transportation, as well as by an enterprise, that performs transport for its own needs, if it has:1) A Transport License; and 2) Transport Safety Certificate, issued by the competent authority of state management in the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, i.e. in other country on the reciprocity basis" (Art.10MN) Mentioned documents are issued by the Directorate of Railways in Serbia while in Montenegro by Directorate of Transport.
In Serbia the Directorate formed by the Law of Railways issued few certificates since the beginning of its activity (05.May.2005) but these certificates without exception are referring to the monopolistic railway operator ZS and its subsidies. However the problem lays in the national operator "Zeleznice Srbije" and "Zeljeznice Crne Gore".
In both of the countries the third condition is to sign a contract about infrastructure exploitation with the mentioned state owned companies . In Serbia we have to wait until "ZS" works out the methodology to quote the fee of the use of infrastructure. The second task is to establish a program of financial consolidation which includes to divide previous debts - accumulated by the predecessor of title JZ (Jugoslovenske Zeleznice) from the costs of current activity.
So far there was no interest to take the necessary action in lack of a clear strategy and because of unstable political environment. The internal communication in the company to employees also emphasizes the black side of competition, repeating what could happen if "strong international companies take the most profitable routes". It is obvious, this railway policy obstructs generally the changes on the market. As the new general director Mr.Milovan Markovic appointed at the beginning of November still we can not say anything about his activity and strategy. Soon we will give him a chance to share more details about his visions and plans regarding ZS with readers of Railway Market.
In Montenegro "Zeljeznice Crne Gore" after restructuring divided on 2 limited liability companies: Infrastructure Ltd (doo. Infrastruktura). and Transport Ltd (doo. Prevoz). The tender for privatization "Transport Ltd" is planned to be appointed until the end of the year. The transport department includes freight and passenger transport and rolling stock maintenance. State of Montenegro declares that wants to sell its shares to a strong regional leader which can integrate existing route Bar-Podgorica-Serbian border into European railway system. It is possible only with connecting to Corridor X which intercept Serbia from Hungary and Croatia toward Macedonia and Greece. Public invitation for concession arrangements on railway stations and plots on attractive locations will be announced also until the end of the year.
Common characteristic of the 2 railway companies is the lack of rolling stock - freight and passenger cars as well as locomotives. Due to this fact there is no transport at all or partly even on such a routes where infrastructure could serve market needs. Good example, which globally reflects the whole situation in the region is the newly rebuilt rail bridge at Bogojevo on Danube river between Croatia and Serbia. This line could open a transit corridor from Subotica hub toward Zagreb and Adriatic region, connecting it with South-East Hungary and Romania, but there are no plans to launch regular traffic in the new time table, as neither ZS nor HZ (Croatian Railways) have no enough rail cars to serve Subotica-Vinkovci route.
Changes are already question of time, let`s hope a short time!

Basic datas of ZS (source:zeleznicesrbije.com)
Line mileage 3,808.736 km
Electrified lines (25 kV, 50 Hz AC) 1196.051 km
Main arterial route 1,767.488 km
Private sidings 772.568 km
Track gauge 1,435 mm
Maximum gradient 27,41´
Maximum axle load 22.5 t
Tractive stock 417
Passenger rolling stock 797
Wagon stock strength 16,288
Number of employees 22,271

(published in Railway Market magazine - December 2008)