January 15, 2026
by in News

Spajić: Japanese company Itochu eyes Montenegro’s waste-to-energy project

Prime Minister of Montenegro Milojko Spajić said an incinerator of up to 50 MW is about to be built, resolving the municipal waste management issue. He added that Itochu from Japan is interested in the investment.

Following a public call for a feasibility study for a waste-to-energy facility in Podgorica, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić said Montenegro would soon build the first incineration plant. It will enable up to 50 MW of renewable energy from waste, sorting out the matter of municipal waste management in accordance with the European Union’s directives and in an environmentally friendly way, in his words.

The public-private partnership will facilitate the construction of an incinerator for the capital city, but it would also be an option for other municipalities, according to Spajić. The prime minister revealed that Japan-based engineering giant Itochu is among the companies interested in the project.

Deponija, the utility in charge of waste management in Podgorica, launched the public call in September. The contract was awarded last month to a consortium of local firms Vatreks Rescue CG and Medix, and Slovenia-based GP sistemi.

A consortium has won the contract for the feasibility study for the incineration facility in Podgorica

They are due to deliver the documentation within two months. The job is worth EUR 435,600 including value-added tax.

There was no indication in the project task about the preferred technology for the incinerator. Such facilities are usually cogeneration plants, combined heat and power (CHP).

In the Western Balkans, there is only one municipal waste incinerator that recovers energy. It is located in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Utilizing waste to generate energy is a component of the waste management hierarchy. Incinerators are present all over Europe.

Podgorica’s waste utility Deponija runs the city’s landfill. It already captures biogas, but it flares it without utilizing the energy.

Executive director Aleksandar Božović said the firm would soon obtain the licenses and documentation to build a biogas power plant. The study has been completed, and Deponija is working to secure a grant from an international financial institution, he asserted.

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January 12, 2026
by in News

Spajić: Japanese company Itochu eyes Montenegro’s waste-to-energy project

Prime Minister of Montenegro Milojko Spajić said an incinerator of up to 50 MW is about to be built, resolving the municipal waste management issue. He added that Itochu from Japan is interested in the investment.

Following a public call for a feasibility study for a waste-to-energy facility in Podgorica, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić said Montenegro would soon build the first incineration plant. It will enable up to 50 MW of renewable energy from waste, sorting out the matter of municipal waste management in accordance with the European Union’s directives and in an environmentally friendly way, in his words.

The public-private partnership will facilitate the construction of an incinerator for the capital city, but it would also be an option for other municipalities, according to Spajić. The prime minister revealed that Japan-based engineering giant Itochu is among the companies interested in the project.

Deponija, the utility in charge of waste management in Podgorica, launched the public call in September. The contract was awarded last month to a consortium of local firms Vatreks Rescue CG and Medix, and Slovenia-based GP sistemi.

A consortium has won the contract for the feasibility study for the incineration facility in Podgorica

They are due to deliver the documentation within two months. The job is worth EUR 435,600 including value-added tax.

There was no indication in the project task about the preferred technology for the incinerator. Such facilities are usually cogeneration plants, combined heat and power (CHP).

In the Western Balkans, there is only one municipal waste incinerator that recovers energy. It is located in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Utilizing waste to generate energy is a component of the waste management hierarchy. Incinerators are present all over Europe.

Podgorica’s waste utility Deponija runs the city’s landfill. It already captures biogas, but it flares it without utilizing the energy.

Executive director Aleksandar Božović said the firm would soon obtain the licenses and documentation to build a biogas power plant. The study has been completed, and Deponija is working to secure a grant from an international financial institution, he asserted.

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October 30, 2025
by in News

Spajić: Montenegro wants to be country of green data centers

Montenegro plans to become a country of green data centers, according to Prime Minister Milojko Spajić.

Milojko Spajić was one of the speakers at the keynote panel Accelerating the Western Balkans’ Green and Smart Growth, within the European Union – Montenegro Investment Conference in Luštica, near Tivat.

Earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the prime minister of Montenegro opened the two-day event, titled Smart Growth, Green Future: Accelerating Investment in Montenegro.

Spajić said energy is a cornerstone of the country’s strategy for connecting the region but also something in which Montenegro could be very competitive, helping the EU become even more competitive on the global stage.

Spajić: We can offer to Europe a possibility to get inexpensive electricity and stable supply

“We have dozens of amazing projects for hydro, wind, solar energy at very competitive rates. We can offer to Europe a possibility to get inexpensive electricity and stable supply. Baseload energy as well. For example, hydro is baseload energy,” he stated.

Photo: Bojan Gnjidić / Government of Montenegro

The prime minister recalled that his country is interconnected with Italy and that the project for the installation of the second line of the subsea cable is in the pipeline. But he also highlighted the significance of digital connections with Italy, where Milan is one of the biggest data center hubs in the EU, providing connections to Frankfurt and London.

Montenegro, in Spajić’s words, intends to be a part of the data highway. Data centers are basically the hardware for artificial intelligence, he explained and added that AI is going to be strong in big markets, not in small ones.

Partners from the US, UAE, and other countries, are interested in the development of the data centers

“But where we can actually be involved as a small country are data centers providing infrastructure for the EU’s AI to be strong and competitive,” Spajić underlined.

Therefore the country intends to focus on providing a very good environment for global data center operators, to come from all around the world. Spajić revealed that partners from the United States, United Arab Emirates, and other countries are interested in joining the opportunities for the development of the data centers.

“We want Montenegro to be the country of green data centers. We have water for hydropower. We have a lot of solar potential and a lot of wind. We are very fortunate to have such diversity,” Spajić said.

He invited investors to come to Montenegro: “Don’t waste your time, come as soon as possible.”

Participants at the panel included the Director of Enlargement Coordination, Strategy and Investments at the EU’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood, Mathieu Bousquet, WizzAir CEO József Váradi, Akuo President Eric Scotto, and Charlotte Ruhe, Managing Director for Central and South-Eastern Europe in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Of note, fourteen cooperation projects between Montenegrin and European companies have been initiated at the conference. Some of them involve investments in wind farms, solar parks, energy storage, and grids.

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April 21, 2025
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Minister Admir Šahmanović formally assumes energy, mining portfolio in Montenegro

Prime Minister of Milojko Spajić has merged two ministries, so Minister of Mining, Oil and Gas and Coordinator of the Ministry of Energy Admir Šahmanović took the helm at the joint energy and mining portfolio. Among his primary responsibilities are the completion of the domestic part of the Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor, the installation of the second line of the Monita submarine interconnector with Italy and power market coupling with the European Union.

The Parliament of Montenegro elected Minister of Energy and Mining Admir Šahmanović. He led the Ministry of Mining, Oil and Gas in  since July. As Minister of Energy Saša Mujović was elected mayor of the capital Podgorica, Šahmanović recently took over as coordinator,

Prime Minister Milojko Spajić now formally merged the two ministries again. “If we complete the Trans-Balkan Corridor – only a few kilometers are left, the second line of the underwater cable toward Italy, Montenegro is becoming the cooperation bridge between the Balkans and the EU,” he said in the national assembly, promoting Šahmanović.

The list of priority energy infrastructure, adopted in December, also includes the Komarnica and Kruševo hydropower projects, the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP), a subsidy scheme for rooftop solar power plants, energy efficiency measures and a floating solar power unit.

The Trans-Balkans Electricity Corridor is a project for upgrading transmission systems in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. The proposed lines run from Romania to the Monita subsea interconnector with Italy.

Admir Šahmanović will participate in the first panel discussion within Belgrade Energy Forum (BEF 2025), organized by Balkan Green Energy News. The two-day conference in Serbia, starting on May 14, is the central meeting point for representatives of regional and international institutions, organizations and the business community from the region, Europe, and beyond.

Minister has master’s degree in financial management

The minister said earlier this month that current photovoltaic and wind power projects would boost Montenegro’s electricity capacity fivefold, to 5 GW. Admir Šahmanović, born in 1985, has a master’s degree in financial management. He is in the leadership of the Bosniak Party.

Early in his career, he worked in PricewaterhouseCoopers in both Montenegro in Serbia, in Montenegro’s ministries of sustainable development and tourism and public administration, and the British Council in Podgorica. The current minister has experience in managing funds received from the European Union.

Šahmanović entered energy policy sphere in 2022

Three years ago, Šahmanović was named state secretary in the Ministry of Capital Investments, which included the energy portfolio. He participated in the negotiations on the EU accession and on obtaining loans from international financial institutions.

According to his official biography, the minister has promoted sustainable energy and transportation and environmental protection and worked on the country’s strategic documents and action plans.

Additionally, Šahmanović has managed EU-funded projects for wastewater purification and green energy.

Last month he oversaw the adoption of the new Law on Energy.

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