Revenues from the use of the Smokovac-Mateševo highway section for the Monteput company, which manages it, amounted to just under 21 million euros in two and a half years, not including VAT, which is state revenue, according to information from the Action for Social Justice (ASP).
"At the same time, expenditures and investments are around 25 million euros, of which total expenditures account for around 14,7 million euros, and investments for over ten million euros," ASP announced.
The Smokovac-Mateševo highway section was opened in July 2022, and ASP data refers to the period until the beginning of February this year, and does not include September last year, as ASP does not have data for that month.
In the first year of operation, i.e. from July 2022, revenues amounted to over 3,5 million euros, in 2023 around eight million, and last year (excluding September) 8,6 million euros. In January this year, they amounted to around 650 thousand euros.
"When it comes to expenses, during 2022 they were just under three million euros, a year later 5,6 million, last year they were shown at 5,6 million (excluding September). In January of this year they amounted to 514 thousand euros," ASP specified.
Of the total amount for the expenses shown, salaries account for 7,3 million or half.
"Investments total over ten million euros, and the most was allocated in the first year of operation, 7,6 million, when part of the necessary machinery for maintaining the section was purchased," the statement said.
As ASP said, the construction of the Smokovac-Mateševo highway section took seven and a half years, and Monteput claims that the project has not yet been closed and that the period for reporting deficiencies in the work carried out is still ongoing.
"The construction cost over 900 million, and the works were carried out by the Chinese company China Road and Bridge Corporation as the main contractor, which included domestic subcontractors, of which Podgorica's Bemax received the largest share of the pie," ASP said.
However, as they state, the works were exempt from VAT, customs duties for the import of materials and equipment, taxes on the wages of foreign workers, concession fees for the use of stone, while additional money was allocated to pay a foreign consultant for the control of the works, two domestic commissions, which were also controllers, and some of the public administration employees involved in the project.
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