The municipality of Herceg Novi justifies its intention to build a new hospital by saying that the Meljina complex is burdened with various problems, from the termination of the privatization dispute, bankruptcy proceedings, potential arbitration and proceedings before the Special State Prosecutor's Office and the Commercial Court, so it is feared that these court proceedings would last for years.
That is why, as President of the Municipality Stevan Katić told "Vijesti", they requested the issuance of urban-technical conditions (UTI), which the Government, on the proposal of the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism, approved on July 12.
On the other hand, for "Vijesti" from the Ministry of Health, headed by Minister Dragoslav Šćekić, they pointed out that due to the behavior of the municipal authorities of Herceg Novi and causing problems in the health system, but certainly not in favor of the people of Novlja, it is time for the Special State Prosecutor's Office to intervene. and examine who and for whose interest is collapsing the public and subordinating it to whom. From this department, they stated that this coastal municipality did not consult them at all or communicate with them as with the competent department in connection with the construction of this hospital on the Kastar plot 314 Podi.
Šćekić said at the Government session when the UTIs were issued that he believes that additional consultation with that department was necessary for this move because the Meljine hospital, which is already functioning, is left in the second place.
Katic emphasized that Šćekić had to be informed about the issue because the Ministry of Health had to give consent in order for the Government and the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism to approve the UTA.
Meljine is the only hospital on the territory of this municipality and since March of this year it has been part of the public health system within the organizational system of Kotor Hospital. This hospital was threatened with bankruptcy last year, but the Government used the provisions of the Act on Care of Temporarily and Permanently Seized Assets as the most optimal solution so that the hospital could work smoothly.
In connection with the Meljine hospital, there are several proceedings - criminal, litigation, arbitration and bankruptcy, and they make it difficult to resolve the final status.
The main project is not done yet
Katic emphasized that they requested the issuance of conditions in December of last year after a conversation with Prime Minister Dritan Abazović, because the problems of the Meljine hospital there are not easy to solve, they can last for years, so they were looking for another option in order to ensure that Herceg Novi has a hospital in the long term and citizens, guests and employee safety.
"That is why we are looking for the construction of a new hospital with a capacity of 150 beds in the place where the Children's Department of the Meljine Hospital was in the 60s of the last century. We are of the opinion that this will save us time and security, but also that the staff working in the existing hospital will move to the new building", he said, adding that it would be built on plot 314 Podi.
Katic emphasized that Šćekić had to be informed about the issue because the Ministry of Health had to give consent in order for the Government and the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism to approve the UTA. Šćekić had previously disputed that, as he said, the new hospital would be built in the Podi settlement, while Katic said that this was not true, but that a health facility was planned in the immediate vicinity of the existing one in Meljine.
Katic added that the main project has not yet been completed because it is preceded by a legal procedure that takes a lot of time, but until then, based on the conditions, it is necessary to call for a competition for the best architectural solution, which is carried out by the chief state architect. He points out that only after entering the main project will it be known how much money will be needed for the works. Katic emphasized that it is a plot of land with a total area of 7,56 thousand square meters and that their goal is to maintain the existing services that the hospital provides, among others, surgery, internal medicine, gynecology and obstetrics with the possibility of expanding the scope.
Whose interests does the Municipality represent?
The Ministry of Health is asking why the hospital is being moved from the coast to the hill and why it was not taken into account that the facility should be part of the "Simo Milošević" Institute.
"Who and for whose interests wants to relocate the Meljine hospital now that, after a lot of efforts by the entire government, and above all the health department, it has been returned under the auspices of public health after the well-known, multi-year process of privatization and other actions that followed it?", they asked from the health department.
That's why the Ministry of Health, as they say, is interested in whose interests are represented by the coastal administration and whether in this way they are helping the parties in the court case that brought the institution almost to its shutdown. They add that they accept all intentions that will improve health care, but not those that do not aim at the well-being of citizens.
"Meljine Hospital must be preserved and brought to the level of an independent hospital, by providing staff who, unfortunately, left the private institution in the previous period for well-known reasons. Now someone again, under the guise of dubious intentions, wants to move the same from the seashore to Poda", said the department.
The Ministry of Health emphasized that the state must be careful and must not allow the mistake to be repeated, and the citizens stand up for their health care.
I did not communicate with Knežević about Meljin
The President of the Municipality, Stevan Katic, said that he had no contact with the owner of the Atlas Group, Duško Knežević, who is associated with the company that manages the hospital in Meljine, neither personally nor professionally, since the warrant was issued for him and when he left the country.
"The only contact was through the media, in the show on Television Vijesti when you included Knežević via a video link, and then you could see what kind of relationship we all have," he concluded.
The owner of the Meljine General Hospital is the special company "Meljine Complex", which is majority owned by "Atlas CAP" connected to Knežević.
When asked what will happen to the Meljine hospital, Katic said that they are afraid that the resolution of these disputes will take years.
“I wish I was wrong. When the disputes are resolved, if the state becomes the owner of this location again, then it will assess whether it will build a hospital again, maybe a new, bigger, more modern one," he said, adding that everything depends on the fate of the plot at the end of the disputes. As he said, in that case the new hospital will be an additional space or a special department at the then new health facility.
Bankruptcy due to a debt of 242,4 thousand
The owner of "Meljine complex" with a 99 percent share is the company "Atlas Cap" from Podgorica, associated with businessman Dusko Knežević. This company's account has been blocked for more than three years due to a debt of 153 thousand euros. The owner of "Atlas Cap" is an offshore company from Cyprus called "Meljine Complex Limites".
Knežević's consortium bought the former military hospital with 50 square meters of land and 19 buildings in 2008 for a formal price of 25 million euros, but paid the amount in bonds that cost it around 10 to 12 million euros. The buyer undertook to invest 119 million euros in the future tourist and hospital complex, but only three million were invested with the explanation that the Municipality was late with the urban plans. In 2015, the Privatization Council launched an initiative to terminate the contract, but it did not happen.
In September 2019, at the request of Elektroprivreda (EPCG), the Commercial Court opened bankruptcy in the Meljine hospital due to a debt of 242,3 thousand euros. In connection with the Meljine hospital, several proceedings are being conducted - criminal, litigation, arbitration and bankruptcy, and they make it difficult to resolve the final status.
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