China's Exim Bank Tuesday pledged a $47.7 million (euro33.71 million)
loan to the Montenegrin state sailing company to help the country build
a new merchant fleet.
The agreement is for Montenegro to pay back the loan in 15 years,
with a five-year grace period and a fixed interest rate of 3 percent,
officials said.
Montenegrin Transport Minister Andrija
Lompar said that the money will be used to buy two ships, each with the
capacity to carry 35,000 tons of merchandise. The ships will be made in
China and delivered to Montenegro within 24 months, he said.
"These two ships will bring hope in the revitalization of our maritime industry," Lompar said.
Exim
Bank official Li Ruogu added that "this is just the beginning ... we
will open a new era of economic cooperation between China and
Montenegro."
Montenegro has no merchant ships currently. It
once had a fleet of 27 ships, but those have decayed or were sold over
the years due to neglect and the economic crisis that has persisted in
the Balkans since the wars of the 1990s'. (Source: businessweek.com)
