After meeting Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic in the capital Podgorica, Scajola said "investors are also interested in installing an undersea electric power cable between Italy and Montenegro".
Italy and Montenegro are both located along the Adriatic Sea, and an underwater power cable would alleviate shortages of electricity in both countries.
"Investors are also willing to build hydropower plants and to invest in Montenegro's (state-operated) Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) and its power grid," Scajola said. In a statement issued later on Tuesday, Italy's Industry Ministry said Scajola had signed two memorandums of understanding with Montenegro, one for energy and one for transport.
Italian power group Enel is interested in building an 800-1,200 megawatt coal-fired power plant in Montenegro together with the Duferco group, the ministry said.
Italy's power grid operator Terna plans to build a 100 kilometre underwater power cable between the two countries with an initial capacity of 1,000 MW, it said in the statement. It added that regional utility A2A is planning a series of hydroelectric plants with an overall capacity of 240 MW.
Scajola stopped short of specifying the time span for the investments, but Djukanovic earlier this year said that joint Italian-Montenegrin projects could take years.
Djukanovic said "the cooperation between the two countries, the two governments and companies remains dynamic and good".
Earlier on Tuesday, representatives of the Montenegrin, Serb and Italian governments agreed to do a feasibility study for a 1.5 billion-euro overhaul of a key railway line connecting the Montenegrin port of Bar with Serbian capital Belgrade.
Montenegro, a Balkan nation of only 650,000 people, led by Djukanovic's pro-Western coalition, is seeking investments to boost its economy and buffer the impact of the global downturn.
On Monday, Montenegrin media reported that Italian oil company ENI is also interested in prospecting for oil and gas along the Balkan country's coast, just outside neighbouring Croatia. ENI already operates a natural gas offshore drill near the Croatian port of Pula.
(EurActiv with Reuters.)
