The construction of the second section of the highway cannot begin before 2026, despite the Prime Minister's announcement Milojko Spajić that the works will start in the spring of 2025 at the latest.
Spajić, who previously announced the "first ass" on the Mateševo - Andrijevica section for September this year, is denied by the data of the state company "Monteput", responsible for the construction of highways, as well as the procedures of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) - co-investor of the project.
"The estimated time for the construction of the second section of the highway project is five years, of which one year for the main project and four years for its construction", was officially announced to "Vijesta" and it was clarified that after signing the construction and design contract, it will be created the conditions for the start of the main project and the execution of preparatory works.
The signing of the contract on the design and construction of the second section of the highway is planned for the beginning of 2025, the expropriation procedure has not been completed, and the green light from the EBRD on the environmental impact assessment study is awaited, which is a condition for that international financial organization to approve project.
As the signing of the contract is scheduled for the beginning of next year, this means that the main project could only be completed at the beginning of 2026, after which construction could begin.
According to the current deadlines, the section from Mateševo to Andrijevica could be put into traffic in 2030.
Prime Minister Spajić announced last year for September of this year that there would be a "puff-puff" and the first ace for the most important infrastructure project, while two days ago he explained on TV Prva that the construction of the second section had not started in September of this year and that "300 million euros the reason for the postponement of a few months".
This is money from the EBRD and the European Commission (EC), of which 100 million is a grant from the EC, and the rest is a loan from the EBRD.
"I expect the shipment to the country in the first or the beginning of the second quarter of next year," said Spajić.
However, it is now denied by the data on all the necessary pre-procedures so that construction could begin.
The pre-qualification call for companies interested in the construction of the second section, 23 kilometers long, was published on April 24, 2024 and ended after two months.
They are updating the environmental impact assessment
The EBRD told "Vijesti" that eight bids were received at the pre-qualification tender, while they did not specify the names of the bidders.
"All activities related to project procurement in the EBRD, including pre-qualification, are carried out in accordance with procurement policy and rules (PPR), whereby the bank's clients are responsible for all aspects of project implementation, including procurement. All information on procurement that should be publicly available will be published on the EBRD portal for public e-procurement. In addition, the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) is currently being updated and will be published before the EBRD approves the project," said the financial institution.
According to "Vijesti" unofficial information from sources familiar with this business, there were no companies from the EU at the pre-qualification tender. Among other things, Chinese companies and a Turkish-Azerbaijani consortium are reportedly interested in the job.
"Monteput" explained that five companies and three consortia had come forward to express their interest in the section of the highway.
"Applications are being evaluated in accordance with EBRD procurement rules and criteria, which relate to legal and financial capabilities, proven experience on similar projects, compliance with internationally recognized standards of environmental protection, social, health and safety norms. When the evaluation of the Commission is completed, and with the confirmation of the EBRD, a short list of bidders who are qualified to submit bids for the main tender related to the preparation of the main project and the execution of works will be defined. In accordance with the procedures of the EBRD, the details of the procedure, which also refers to the names of the companies, are not published until the procedure is completed", they clarified from "Monteput".
They stated that the activities so far on the preparation of the realization of the second phase of the construction of the highway Bar - Boljare are taking place according to the planned dynamics, with respect to the procedures of the EBRD, and that the estimated value of the tender is EUR 588 million including VAT.
"Before starting the works, apart from the implied existence of a contract with the contractor and supervision, the investor can start preparatory works of a larger scale based on the Government's Decision (consent of the Government for the execution of preparatory works). In order to start the main (permanent) works, it is necessary to obtain a building permit for a complex engineering facility from the competent ministry", they announced from "Monteput".
According to the original route of the section of the highway from the conceptual project, based on the real estate valuation report, as stated by the state company, the expropriation of 1.420.283 square meters of privately owned land (about 142 ha) and 90 buildings of various uses and conditions (of which 35 are residential).
"For these purposes, 14 million euros have been provided in the budget for this year. The procedures include the resolution of property-legal relations in a total of 275 cases (list of immovable properties), 854 cadastral plots with a total of 496 registered owners in six cadastral municipalities, namely KO Mateševo, Sunga, Kraljske Bare in the municipality of Kolašin, and KO Gnjili Potok, Sjenožeta, Kralje, Slatina 1 in the municipality of Andrijevica. The process has not been finalized, but the expropriation procedures are in progress", they say from "Monteput".
Due to the relocation of the route, lower costs
They stated that the original route of the highway, according to the conceptual project, went from the exit of the Trešnjevik tunnel to Andrijevica through the settlement of Kralje, and that it would require the expropriation and demolition of a certain number of buildings and, conditionally speaking, the division of the settlement of Kralje into two parts.
"It would have a significant impact on the local population, which was also noted by the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) editor. In order to reduce the negative effects on the lives of the locals, and in accordance with the requirements of the EBRD and the residents of Kralj, Monteput analyzed the situation and proposed an alternative solution. The new route was presented by the executive director at meetings with the residents of Kralje, as well as the villages of Gnjili Potok, Sjenožeta, Slatina, Prisojac, Zabrđe and Trešnjevo, in the presence of representatives of the EBRD and local self-government. Milan Ljiljanic and the director of the business unit for project implementation and monitoring, Goran Vujović. All interested parties had the opportunity to receive answers from representatives of Monteput and the EBRD, as well as to present their comments and suggestions. Instead of crossing the regional road R19 Andrijevica - Mateševo, the new route will pass lower, below the village, along the river Kraljštica. While the original route would require the demolition of around 35 buildings, the alternative solution envisages the demolition of only one residential building on the part of the route after the Trešnjevik tunnel, which significantly reduces the impact on the local community", Monteput explained.
They emphasized that the new decision will not negatively affect the established dynamics of the implementation of the contractor selection procedure and project implementation:
"That is, it will significantly speed up and facilitate the implementation itself, as it will enable savings in the time necessary for the expropriation and demolition of buildings according to the original solution, and thus reduce the costs of expropriation. Although the analyzes are still ongoing, preliminary estimates indicate that by moving the route, the total costs will be lower. Since the tender is ongoing, the final price of the construction will be known after receiving the bids and selecting the most favorable bid".
In December 2023, Prime Minister Spajić said that by the end of 2030, both highways and four expressways would be completed, but as things stand now, only the Mateševo - Andrijevica section could be completed by then.
Spajić: Because of the 300 million from the EU, they agreed to the postponement
Prime Minister Spajić explained in the program "Free Zone" on TV Prva that when they took power on October 31 last year, the first thing they did was the preliminary project for a new share, which was included in the capital budget and for which financing was provided through the issuance of bonds - debt on the London Stock Exchange.
"Where we clearly indicated that the money from the bond will be used exclusively for capital projects, including this one and the return of old loans. I personally went to London and spoke with the president of the EBRD and told her that if you do not speed up this plan that you presented to Abazović's government, we will go into this alone and we will initiate everything ourselves with our capacities. Seeing the seriousness on our part, they sped up the procedures, the European Commission (EC) provided us with a 100 million grant, and according to our information, more money will probably be provided by the EC," said the Prime Minister.
According to him, the EBRD will set aside 200 million through the most favorable lending and precisely because of the 300 million it expects from Europe, they have agreed to their conditions, protocols and procedures, and because of that "the whole procedure will be postponed for a few months".
He said that the EBRD conducted a pre-qualification tender according to its procedures, and that the final phase of the tender has now begun and that the contract with the contractor will be signed at the beginning of January - February.
"Another thing is the residents of the Kralje settlement who have been protesting for months, not to mention years. The previous executive did not respond to them and that is a shame. For all capital projects, the local community must be consulted," said Spajić.
He said that he attended meetings with the locals, as well as the Minister of Transport, Maja Vukićević, and that they are on the threshold of a solution that will not divide the place in two, that the houses will not be demolished and that the highway will take a different route, which will not cause additional costs.
The Prime Minister also said that the deadline had to be extended by a couple of months due to an additional environmental check and that the EBRD would have its own study on the website.
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