Novi Duvanski Kombinat Podgorica (NDKP) plans to construct a €12 million ($14.2 million) primary tobacco processing plant in Montenegro. The new facility will employ 30 people and have a production capacity of 900 tons per month, according to NDKP Executive Director Savka Darmanovic.
NDKP will import leaf tobacco because domestic production is insufficient to satisfy the need for raw material, Darmanovic said, adding that the value of the investment would eventually reach €40 million
“The future factory of primary tobacco production is very demanding in terms of technological and spatial conditions and will require additional space in the future,” Darmanovic said. “It is also necessary to define and allocate special capacities for the purchase of raw tobacco, its storage and preparation process,” she added.
In 2016, the Montenegrin government signed a contract for the sale of NDKP to BMJ Industries of the United Arab Emirates. Under the terms of the deal, BMJ will invest €20 million to recapitalize the Montenegrin company, with the bulk of the resources to be spent on the new factory.