On 10 June, a contract was signed for the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in Podgorica. The construction of a wastewater treatment plant is the largest infrastructure project in the history of Podgorica. Both in financial and construction terms, this contract officially marks the beginning of the most demanding phase of the comprehensive investment project: actual construction of the plant and the installation of the modern equipment for sewage treatment.

The complete project will include the building of a new wastewater treatment plant for the city, as well as a sludge incineration plant, and extension of the sewerage network. The investments will make possible the collection and treatment of the wastewater generated by the city in line with EU standards.

The project started in 2009 when a feasibility study was prepared with the support of technical assistance from the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF). WBIF support continued through technical assistance and investment grants, which enabled this project to finance and implement components including the construction of the primary collector, the primary sewerage network and other hydro-technical infrastructure.

For the overall investment project, the EU provided €22.9 million and bilateral donors an additional €9.9 million in grants through the WBIF. This was complemented by a KfW Development Bank loan of more than €35 million and a beneficiary contribution of around €7.5 million.