If this title may sound like an exaggerated statement to some people, which aims to point out the problem of excessive and ineffective construction of residential buildings in our country, then it is necessary to state that, according to the census of population, households and apartments conducted in December 2023, there are 45.812 inhabitants in Bar and that there are 41.729 apartments in this city. The people of Bar are aware that during the census, residential units for at least 22 buildings whose construction took place in the area around the Željeznica river canal and in the wider vicinity of the "Anto Đedović" elementary school in Šušanj were not registered, and that this number of newly built (and unregistered) buildings is significantly higher if we take into account the area from Sutomore to Velji Pijesek.
This "Budvanization" of the wider urban core of Bar and its suburban settlements is not only a prime example of erroneous and until recently centralized spatial planning, but also a manifestation of a deeper and more dangerous process for all our cities. The examples of deurbanized Bar, the devastated environments of Kotor, Kolašin and Herceg Novi, and the conglomerated suburbs of Podgorica not only reveal suspiciously unfulfilled conditions for the design of residential buildings - the absence of access areas, such as areas for parking, greenery and communal waste, or the absence of recreational facilities and children's playgrounds. The dysfunctionality of inspection supervision is also obvious, which in the past period was largely conditioned by the abolition of the Inspection Affairs Directorate.
What has been unfolding before our eyes for all these years is actually a process of mass construction of residential buildings which, in its disastrous effects for our society, is irresistibly reminiscent of the mass voucher privatization of the 90s! Both processes began with complete liberalization and deregulation with the participation of dubious foreign investors and during their development, economic power was concentrated in the hands of a small number of people. In both of these mass processes, we had/have the participation of people with very questionable professional and expert capacities, while the establishment of effective supervision was (was) impossible due to the incompetence or corruption of the competent institutions, as well as due to the selectivity in the application of regulations. Of course, the former MFA, through its dubious redistribution of social property, led to an increase in social differences, the consequences of which we are still experiencing today, while the MISZ has already caused the permanent devastation of certain environmental units, has led or will lead to serious pollution due to construction in areas that do not have appropriate infrastructure (e.g. the absence of atmospheric and fecal sewage) and at the same time reduced the quality of life due to the large degree of construction, i.e. the over-occupation of space. Certainly, this process also has its social dimension - the growth of the construction sector in Montenegro in a peculiar way made it impossible for the local population to buy real estate to solve their existential needs.
Another result of the recent census is very important for this story, which tells us that every fourth apartment in Montenegro is temporarily uninhabited, or abandoned. This figure of 71 empty apartments reveals many less visible, but important details.
Last year's research by the Center for Investigative Reporting of Montenegro (CIN CG) on the structure of foreign investments indicates that after the restoration of statehood until last year, more than 14,6 billion foreign direct investments poured into Montenegro. The analysis highlighted skepticism regarding the determination of the amount from non-transparent zones, i.e. from offshore companies and companies with a non-transparent ownership structure. Of course, this research notes that most of the money went to real estate transactions, while for the same period, within the framework of investments in the real sector, no approximate amount of investments in construction was specified. It is necessary to point out that according to preliminary data from Monstat, during 2023, the share of construction works in fixed asset investments was 44,3%.
When we take these parameters into account and compare them with the data from the Al Jazeera Balkans report on the value of empty apartments in Kosovo, we come to a fact that must make us imagine at least a little. Namely, in the aforementioned report from half a month ago, it was announced that the value of these 180.000 unoccupied apartments in Kosovo is 15 billion euros! Considering that the average price of a square meter of an apartment in a new building in Podgorica and on the coast is close to 2.000 euros, while in Pristina it ranges up to 2.500 euros, then it is evident that unused residential space in buildings in Montenegro can be worth more than 5 billion euros. This monetary value, as well as the number of unoccupied apartments, may be higher because the data from the Statistical Office and the Real Estate Office are not matched.
It may not matter that the MISZ in Montenegro took place during a period when the construction sector in the European Union significantly reduced its activities, but it is indicative of why construction investors, even after very good engagement, do not develop the subsector for the renovation and maintenance of residential buildings and do not cooperate sufficiently with local governments on the construction of sustainable infrastructure.
Bonus video:
