The new megalomaniac project of a five-star tourist resort, which would be located near the contested Porto Skadar Lake (PSL) in Mihailovići, in the NP "Skadarsko jezero", should be suspended because it is not ecologically justified. This is what they claim in the informal association of citizens of Virpazar and ecological NGOs who oppose the construction of a new tourist resort in the national park.
A public discussion on the study of the assessment of the impact of the new tourist settlement on the environment will be held today in Cetinje.
The Association told "Vijesta" that they will not allow further devastation of the area.
As they state, they asked the Government to suspend the granting of permits until a new special purpose spatial plan for Lake Skadar, which is currently being developed, is adopted.
On June 6, 2016, the Ministry of Sustainable Development issued a building permit to the investor "MJ Property" from Podgorica for the construction of a tourist resort on two urban plots in the scope of the State Study of the "Mihailovići" location.
The owner of that company is French citizen Marek Juda, and the executive director is Bojan Zindović. His predecessor Ivan Zindović is now the authorized representative.
The area of the hotel complex, as written in the permit, is 9.103 square meters, of which the hotel is 3.467 square meters, while the mooring, restaurant, spa & wellness center are 832 square meters above ground and 1.112 square meters below ground.
The construction permit for the Porto Skadar Lake (PSL) project was previously obtained by the French businessman Lionel Sonigo, i.e. his company "Montenegro resort company" (MRC), whose chief manager is Ivan Zindović. The permission of the Ministry, headed by Branimir Gvozdenović at the time, was obtained by Sonigo after the Government adopted the State Site Study (DSL) "Mihailovići" in 2014.
"After three years of building the PSL hotel complex, with 51 apartments, 30 villas for rent, a helipad and a marina, we have nothing but a devastated National Park. We remind you that this destroyed part was approved for the environmental impact assessment study and this is how the space looks today", the Association warns.
Sonigo claimed that he had created a maximally ecological project and invited all NGOs, which oppose the project, to suggest what else they should do. He emphasized that only natural materials and solar energy will be used for the construction of the resort, while under each villa there will be tanks that will purify waste water.
In the comments on the new study that the association sent to the Government and the Ministry yesterday, it is stated that luxury wellness - spa and congress tourism with tourist annexes of 16.812 square meters is not in the spirit of tradition and collapses the unique natural environment and features of the protected area.
"The report claims that there is no significant impact on biodiversity, although no additional biodiversity research was done. Assessing the impact on biodiversity without data is inadmissible, given that it is an area under international protection, as well as due to the fact that some of the plant species are on the IUCN red list as highly endangered and are protected by law in our country." , he writes in the comments.
It is stated that the planned pressure on natural resources is enormous, taking into account that the elaboration did not even mention that similar facilities are planned within the neighboring project that include accommodation for 437 people, which, as stated, with the new project amounts to 660 people or double more than the population of Virpazar. The biggest danger, they believe, is that the project opens the door to illegal construction.
"Strasbourg" arrives on the scene
The Porto Skadar Lake project has already been discussed twice in the Council of Europe, and the Secretariat of the Berne Convention has also demanded consideration of a new Draft Special Purpose Spatial Plan. So far, two sessions have been held in Strasbourg, and from June 12 to 16, representatives of Bern and the RAMSAR Secretariat are coming on a "fact-finding mission", according to the Virpazar association.
Earlier, Zindović rejected for "Vijesti" remarks that Strasbourg could stop the construction, stating that it was "disinformation and obstruction by some non-governmental organizations". He announced the opening of Porto Skadar Lake for 2020.
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