The Montenegrin coast will have 563 beaches, which is 74 more than in the previous period, of which 13 are in Herceg Novi, 12 in Kotor, 8 in Tivat, 18 in Budva, 11 in Bar and 12 in Ulcinj.
This is foreseen by the amendments to the Program of Temporary Facilities in the Coastal Zone for the period from 2024 to 2028, which was officially published by the Government. This document was needed to launch a tender for the lease of parts of the coast.
"The tender will be announced by the end of this week and we expect to have new tenants from March 20 to 25. We expect a minimum income of 15 million, and we expect double that to 30 million. The benefits of this procedure are enormous because order is being introduced to the sector in which criminal groups operated and nothing will be able to be done through connections and pressure anymore," said the Minister of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property yesterday. Slaven Radunović at a press conference.
In September last year, his department formed a Commission that made amendments to the Program of Temporary Facilities in the Coastal Zone.
716 requests for program changes
"The Commission's task was to analyze the received initiatives and prepare amendments to the program in accordance with the suggestions of the municipalities, the new price list of initial fees for the use/lease of the coastal zone and the new points policy, which will be applied from the first subsequent public call. The Commission processed a total of 716 submitted applications that were previously submitted to the Ministry and the Public Company for Coastal Zone Management, of which 107 applications related to the territory of the municipality of Herceg Novi, 71 to Kotor, 100 to Tivat, 166 to Budva, 65 to Bar, 207 to Ulcinj," the document states.
It was explained that the relevant Maritime Dobro committee carried out a detailed geodetic survey of existing and new beaches and bathing areas, which provided an accurate picture of the actual situation on the ground, especially when it comes to the areas and areas of bathing areas.
"In the previous period, 489 bathing areas were identified on the Montenegrin coast, namely 134 in Herceg Novi, 35 in Kotor, 40 in Tivat, 133 in Budva, 81 in Bar and 66 in Ulcinj. With these amendments to the program, an additional 74 new bathing areas were formed (563 in total), of which 13 in Herceg Novi, 12 in Kotor, 8 in Tivat, 18 in Budva, 11 in Bar and 12 in Ulcinj. Taking into account the suggestions of the Municipalities of Herceg Novi, Kotor and Tivat, on whose territories a total of 12 city bathing areas had been planned so far (Herceg Novi 6, Kotor 2 and Tivat 4), the amendments increased their number, so that a total of 20 city bathing areas are now planned (Herceg Novi 9, Kotor 5 and Tivat 6). The changes also included planning for new hotel beaches in the municipalities of Kotor (one), Tivat (one), Budva (two), and Ulcinj (one), so the total number of planned hotel beaches now amounts to 70," the document states.
The temporary facilities program for the period 2019-2023 planned a total of 1450 temporary locations, plus 517 facilities (weekend cottages) on the banks of the Bojana River. Of this number, 294 locations were planned in Herceg Novi, 351 in Kotor, 245 in Budva, 137 in Bar and 171 in Ulcinj.
"The amendments to the Program plan an additional 193 locations, as follows: 22 in Herceg Novi, 24 in Kotor, 53 in Tivat (the largest number of facilities is planned for the needs of Porto Montenegro), 25 in Budva, 6 in Bar and 63 in Ulcinj (the largest number of newly planned facilities relates to the Velika Plaza location, mostly in the part of the existing hotel group, as well as to existing beach bars that, due to the materialization of the amendments, are planned as catering facilities)," the document states.
Compensation in three installments with a bank guarantee
According to the Decision on Leasing Parts of the Coastal Zone, which the Government announced yesterday, the lease price is paid in full after concluding the use contract or in three installments, the first of which is due at the moment of concluding the contract, with the obligation to submit a bank guarantee to the Coastal Zone for payment of the remaining annual lease amount, increased by VAT.
"The contract is advertised until the end of the Temporary Facilities Program. If, during the term of the contract, the space is repurposed to build 4- or 5-star hotels in the immediate hinterland, or if, during the term of the contract, the space is converted to a permanent purpose that includes the construction of a high-class hotel (4 and XNUMX stars) in the immediate hinterland, or if a hotel beach is planned, in the event of a change in ownership rights on the cadastral plots and they are no longer in the state-owned regime, the contract with the lessee is terminated and he does not have the right to request a refund of the invested money," the decision states.
In addition, the contract is terminated and there is no right to a refund even if the final court decision annuls the decision and ultimately resolves in favor of another bidder in the public call for tenders for that location.
Tender participants (natural and legal persons, entrepreneurs and companies) must, among other things, submit certificates that they do not owe the state any taxes and confirmations that they have not been convicted of any criminal offense.
Tender participants have the right to object to the Commission's decision within eight days from the date of receipt of the decision on the main matter, while the decision of the second-instance Commission on the objection is final.
The most favorable bidder is obliged to conclude the contract within 10 days from the date of receipt of the written invitation, and if Morsko dobro does not conclude it, it has the right to conclude it with another bidder in accordance with the placement of bids from the tender.
In the event of an equal number of points for all bidders, the tender will be declared unsuccessful for that location and a repeated public invitation will be conducted.
Beaches are not "grandfather's"
Radunović said that the initial rental prices will be much higher and that without any manipulation, higher rental amounts will be reached.
"We expect that this will be a minimum of 15 million euros in revenue for the state, and we expect it to be double, or up to 30 million euros. There are no more tenants, the contracts for this business have expired and there will certainly be a tender. We are bringing a lot of revenue to the state and eliminating discrimination against citizens," said Radunović.
Radunović also referred to the fact that those against whom court proceedings are being conducted can also apply for the tender, and explained that this was included because it respects the Constitution and the presumption of innocence. He added that they have clauses, namely that in the event of a court ruling, the tenant will be excluded and the second-ranked bidder will be included in its place.
Radunović stated that the Government has initiated a process to stop the racketeering in this area, but also to ensure that the state does not discriminate.
"Old tenants perceive contracts as if they were signed with their ancestors, not taking into account that others can also use this resource," Radunović emphasized.
Radunović stated that not everyone has a blue flag all the time.
"Until now, it was almost impossible to beat the old tenant at the auction because he had 50 percent of the points at the start."
Radunović and Đeljošaj on opposite sides
Asked about some of the former tenants in Ulcinj who want annexes to the contract, Radunović stated that there was a particular problem in that municipality because almost all beaches had twice the square footage - than they were actually paid for.
"Whether it was the geodetic houses or the Morsko dobro, I won't go into that. The biggest price increase will be for tenants in Ulcinj," he emphasized, adding that the reason for this was that they had falsified figures, while now they will pay the correct amount of the fee.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development Nick Djelosaj After the press conference, he said on Facebook that he "will not allow" some people to "destroy the economy of Ulcinj" and its citizens because of the loss in Budva.
He wrote that he would not allow "compensation" and shared a picture from an earlier protest in Tuzi.
"A picture of what happened in Tuzi in February 2021 to protect the economy of the Tuzi municipality. This is what it seems will soon happen in Ulcinj, to protect the economy of the Ulcinj municipality. I will stand with the citizens and the economy of Ulcinj," said Đeljošaj.
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