Montenegro Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in montenegro, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Tourism

Montenegro’s attractive and unique environment, including 300-kilometer-long coastline and its spectacular mountainous northern region, is the engine that drives the tourism sector.  Tourism accounts for close to 30 percent of GDP. The sale of formerly state-owned land has triggered a wave of foreign investment in large-scale tourism and hospitality centers. This expanding sector offers significant opportunities for U.S. companies in areas such as hotel and resort development, sustainable tourism infrastructure, adventure and eco-tourism services, as well as hospitality management and training.

Infrastructure

Montenegro is planning major upgrades to its airports, road network, and rail lines. In 2014, the Government of Montenegro selected the Chinese company China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) to construct a 41-kilometer section of the national highway that opened in July 2022. This section connects Podgorica with the northern region of the country. Completion of the remaining three phases of the highway will better connect Montenegro to the Serbian border. Construction of the first phase cost the country around USD 1 billion. In addition, the Government of Montenegro has discussed plans to develop the Adriatic-Ionian Highway (the so-called “East-West” Corridor), which will include approximately 105 kilometers of highway connecting the country with Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania, directly linking the capitol of Podgorica and the deepwater Port of Bar to its Adriatic Coast neighbors. 

Energy

Montenegro’s energy sector offers significant opportunities driven by the government’s strategic focus on developing renewable energy generation and planned alignment with EU climate goals. The €850 million undersea electricity cable to Italy in 2019 enabled two–way power exchange and positioned Montenegro as a potential regional energy export and import hub for the Western Balkans and the EU.

The government is prioritizing solar and wind, as part of its long-term strategy to diversify the energy mix and align with EU climate objectives. These projects aim to capitalize on the country’s favorable geographic and climatic conditions.  Further expansions of hydroelectric power generation are also planned. Montenegro’s ability to significantly increase power generation and trade capacity will depend on further modernization of its transmission and distribution networks.

The government is also continuing with the rehabilitation of the Pljevlja thermal power plant (TPP) to increase the plant’s efficiency and reduce emissions and aline with EU environmental standards to ensure stable baseload power during the transition to cleaner generation sources. The Pljevlja Coal Mine is also in the midst of rerouting the Cehotina river to enable further exploitation of lignite coal to supply to the TPP.  Despite preliminary results by the Italian-Russian consortium Eni/Novatek in 2021 that indicated hydrocarbon resources would not be feasible for exploitation, the government also intends to issue new tenders for offshore oil and gas exploration.  The government also intends to explore opportunities for an LNG terminal and natural gas pipeline infrastructure to integrate with regional networks, such as the Trans Adriatic Pipeline in Albania and existing pipeline infrastructure in Bosnian and Herzegovina and Croatia.  A regional consortium led by Croatia’s Plinacro, which includes Montenegrin state-owned gas company Montenegro Bonus, is seeking to coordinate these efforts with the European energy community.

Digital Economy, Related Sectors, and Emerging Technologies 

Montenegro also seeks to expand its ICT sector, capitalizing on an influx of talent following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, nascent but promising growth of ICT startups, and its comparatively low electricity prices, which could enable data center investments. Montenegro has fully harmonized its ICT regulations with the EU’s regulatory framework, which provides investors with a stable investment environment. Montenegro’s strategic goals in ICT mirror those defined in the Digital Agenda 2020 of the European Commission and the European Union’s Gigabit Society policy targets by 2025. The telecommunication sector includes three international players and provides 5G coverage to the vast majority of population centers across the country. Investments in IT/cyber security and data protection are expected to grow. The country’s Innovation Law supports the startup ecosystem by allowing companies to redirect up to €100,000 ($105,480) of anticipated capital gains taxes into equity shares in a startup of their choice. U.S. technology and solutions firms may be well positioned for opportunities in software development, hardware sales, digitalization and e-services, ICT infrastructure investment, including in data centers, and ICT education.

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