Montenegro, Investments in the processing industry dominate

Published on 3. April 2023., News

The total realization of investments within the Action Plan for the implementation of the industrial policy for 2022 amounted to EUR 166.56 million out of the planned EUR 215.4 million, which represents as much as 77.3% of the planned investments, according to the document adopted by the Government at the last session.

As stated in the document, the action plan for the previous two years was planned indicatively, because during 2022, funds from 2021 were also available.

– 86.36 million was spent on improving infrastructure and the business environment, 58.54 million was spent on improving investments and modernizing industry, while 19.19 million were invested in encouraging innovation and the development of entrepreneurship, and 2.45 million were invested in improving access to the market. Million EUR – it is stated in the document.

However, despite numerous investments in the processing industry, there were no investments in the forestry and metal sectors. Investments in forestry were not carried out due to the prolongation of the reorganization of the Forestry Administration, i.e. the lack of FSC certification, while in the metal sector the most important companies, KAP and Željezara, were shut down, which continued to operate, but reoriented to the production of electricity from renewable sources ( RES).

The document also states that according to financial sources, public sector funds account for 43% or 71.66 million in the structure of the realization of total investments and to the greatest extent refer to financing by the IRF in the amount of 50.11 million, which is less compared to 2021 due to reduced demand due to rising interest rates and inflation.

– The funds of private investors in the amount of EUR 56.26 million participate with 33.78%, with the greatest impact still being made by investments in the energy sector, the improvement of ICT infrastructure and traffic, and concessions for the exploitation of mineral resources. 22.23 million were invested from the national budget for activities in the segment of projects supporting the strengthening of the competitiveness of the economy and investments in the development of the manufacturing industry, innovation activities, development of tourist infrastructure, creative industries, digital transformation of companies… The share of donor funds in the total realized investments is 9.9 million for priority infrastructure projects in the field of energy and railway infrastructure and waste management – the document states.
When it comes to unrealized projects, there was no improvement in the capacity of renewable sources due to the delay in planning documents, and there was no interest in the employment promotion programs implemented by the Employment Office. In the metal industry sector, there was a change in production activity and business policy in the area of the aluminum industry, as a consequence of significant price disturbances in the area of energy supply. There was no interest in circular economy programs either, while forest certification was absent due to the prolonged reorganization of the Forestry Administration.

Increased number of employees in the processing sector

According to the data from this document, an increase in the number of employees in the industry sector was recorded from 21,150 employees in 2021 to 23,780 employees in 2022, of which the number of employed women in 2022 was 6,688. An increase in the number of employees in the processing industry sector was also recorded from 11,735 employees in 2021 to 13,426 employees in 2022, of which the number of employed women in 2022 is 4,529, with a recorded growth trend of 14% compared to the previous, 2021.