Chinese Government provides RMB 55 million grant for Đurđevića Tara Bridge Renovation Project (Linked to Record ID#67264 and Record ID#67265)

On July 24, 2011, the People's Republic of China (‘Chinese Government’) and the Government of Montenegro signed an agreement on Enhancing Cooperation in Infrastructure Construction. This agreement was subsequently amended on February 14, 2014.

Then, on May 9, 2017, the Chinese Government and the Government of Montenegro signed an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), which committed RMB 20 million of grant funding (captured in Record ID#67265) to support the Đurđevića Tara Bridge Renovation Project and other potential infrastructure projects to be agreed upon by the parties.

Under the terms of the ETCA, China Development Bank (CDB), together with a bank chosen by the Government of Montenegro, was to open a non-interest, non-expenditure account, and the utilization of the grant was to be subject to the rules of CDB.

Then, on October 20, 2017, the Chinese and Montenegrin governments signed an exchange of letters for a project feasibility study. The study was completed on December 20, 2017.

It was prepared by the China Communications Construction Co., Ltd (CCCC), assisted by the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs of Montenegro, and verified by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China.

It cost RMB 940,000 and it demonstrated that RMB 20 million of grant funding was insufficient to implement the Đurđevića Tara Bridge Renovation Project.

Therefore, on May 7, 2018, the Chinese Government and the Government of Montenegro signed another ETCA (captured in Record ID#67264), which committed an additional RMB 20 million of grant funding to support the Đurđevića Tara Bridge Renovation Project.

An agreement on the Realization of the Bridge Renovation Project on the Tara River was subsequently signed by the parties on October 26, 2018.

Then, on December 1, 2020, the Agency for International Economic Cooperation (AIECO) within China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the Government of Montenegro — represented by the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs of Montenegro and the Transport Administration of Montenegro — signed a “Grant Agreement on the China-Assisted Project for the Realization of the Bridge Renovation on the River Tara in Montenegro” [No: (2019) SHCCWZ No. 4], which stipulated the MOFCOM would provide RMB 55 million (approximately EUR 7.1 million) of grant funding in total for the Đurđevića Tara Bridge Renovation Project.

In order to meet this financial commitment, MOFCOM specified that it would draw RMB 19.06 million from the May 9, 2017 ETCA and RMB 13.94 million from the May 7, 2018 ETCA and provide these funds (RMB 33 million of 60% of the total grant commitment) to the Government of Montenegro within 30 days of the grant agreement’s entry into force.

MOFCOM also stipulated in the December 1, 2020 agreement that it would provide RMB 22 million of supplemental grant funding (‘the remainder shall be paid on the basis of a new item of non-refundable aid’).

Under the terms of the December 1, 2020 agreement, the Government of Montenegro is responsible for paying the Chinese contractors who undertake project design, preparation, implementation, and supervision activities out of the above-referenced CDB account.

The Đurđevića Tara Bridge Renovation Project project involves the renovation of a bridge over the Tara River along the Pljevlja-Djurdjevica-Tara-Zabljak section of the M-6 Trunk Road.

The Đurđevića Tara Bridge is a 365 meter-long concrete bridge located at the crossroads between Mojkovac, Žabljak and Pljevlja. It is 172 meters high. It has 5 arches, the longest of which spans 116 meters. It was the filming location for a Yugoslav movie called "The Bridge," which is popular in China.

It also played an important role during World War II, and is thus seen as a symbol of the fight against fascism. On a more practical note, it is a northern Montenegro traffic hub with significant potential for tourism. A consortium consisting of China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co. Ltd and CREEC (Chengdu) Consulting and Supervision Co.

Ltd is responsible for project design, preparation, and supervision. China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co. Ltd conducted an on-site project preparation visit in May 2019. However, as of December 1, 2020, the contractor responsible for implementation had still not been selected. The grant agreement that was signed on December 1, 2020 apparently went into force on December 31, 2020.

It specifies that ‘[w]ithin 2 (two) years of the technical acceptance of the Project, [MOFCOM] shall keep a high-quality maintenance and quality assurance team to be stationed at the [project] site to ensure that deficiencies can be remedied and timely restoration can be made in case of quality issues within the warranty period for removing the deficiencies, and shall bear the costs of eliminating the deficiencies.’