By the end of this year Montecargo, a Montenegrin transport company, will ship 30,000 mt of iron ore to the Serbia-based Železara Smederevo steelworks (formally HBIS Group Serbia Iron & Steel), owned by the Chinese giant Hesteel Group (HBIS). The agreement has been approved by the parties and should be officially signed this week.
The shipments will depart from the port of Bar, the largest in Montenegro, and will reach the Bijelo Polje railway station on the border with Serbia. From there, the transport will be managed by the national cargo railway company of Serbia, Srbija Kargo.
If the parties are satisfied with the results, the contract will be extended until 2020. "For the next year we expect the delivery of 120,000 tons of ore to the Serbian steelworks, an operation from which Montecargo expects revenues of €1.1 million," said Murafid Hrbovic, CEO of Montecargo.
HBIS plans to invest $300 million in the Serbian steelworks up to the end of 2021. HBIS Group Serbia Iron & Steel was the country's largest exporter in the first five months of 2019 with exports worth €313.2 million.