The signing of the contract for the construction of one of the largest and most significant projects in Bijelo Polje - a wastewater treatment plant, is expected by June, and the tender procedure for the selection of the designer and contractor is underway.
This was confirmed to "Vijesti" by the Municipality of BIJELO POLJE and the Office of the European Delegation in Podgorica.
In the first phase, the Municipality reminds us, the main city sewage collector was built, which was financed in full by the EU Delegation in the amount of 3,1 million euros.
"The Municipality of Bijelo Polje, together with the relevant ministries and DOO Project Consulting from Podgorica, has provided funds for the implementation of this project through a loan from the European Investment Bank and partly through a grant from the Western Balkans Investment Framework-WBIF," the Municipality's response states, emphasizing that the location was determined by the planning documentation.
However, the good news about the continuation of the project, which is especially important due to the closing of Chapter 27, Environment and Climate Change, is not welcomed by the residents of Potkrajci, Njegnjevo, Strojtanica, Donji Rasovo and Nedakus, who have announced that they will not allow construction at the location in Potkrajci, even at the cost of their lives, due to environmental pollution.
The EU Delegation states that modern wastewater treatment plants, which will solve the long-standing environmental problem of Bijelo Polje and the wider region, do not pose an environmental problem for those living near the facility and that they represent a necessary prerequisite for environmental protection and public health preservation.
The president of the "Green Valley of the Potrajci" association, Zihno Omerović, told "Vijesti" that it is unacceptable that the plant be built in the heart of an agricultural zone that can feed the north and a large part of Montenegro, and that the locals, in the event of construction, would be forced to leave their homes.
"The locals here live almost exclusively from agriculture, and it's similar in other villages. This very area where the collector is being built is recognized as agricultural land, and the fewest people have moved out of that place, precisely because they are engaged in agriculture. If they change that concept, people will be forced to move out. We have no way of surviving or working in agriculture, because no one will buy our products anymore," said Omerović.
He pointed out that the project was started several years ago, without the consent of the citizens, who, he claims, were not contacted by anyone from the Municipality at the time the location was being decided.
"They did not consult us in any way to reach a compromise, there was no public discussion, and we only found out about the construction when the machines arrived," said Omerović, adding that the locals were condemned to self-organizing through multiple protests, which they had held before.
He pointed out that he had visited all the wastewater treatment plants and that none of them, even in municipalities with much larger budgets like Budva, were functioning properly, and not, as he warned, in our, practically poor municipality, where it would be an ecological disaster in the middle of an agricultural estate.
Đuro Tvrdišić from Strojtanica said that he suspects that the construction project at that location was facilitated by the then mayor of the municipality, Tarzan Milošević.
"In the eyes of these citizens, Milošević was the one who suggested that the location be here, without the citizens' knowledge. Nobody knew anything," said Tvrdišić.
The president of the Njegnjevo and Strojtanica Local Community, Zoran Velickovic, said that the locals had repeatedly asked the Municipality to move the location just a kilometer and a half downstream, where there is an uninhabited area, but that no one had listened.
"Strojtanica and Njegnjevo have become the appendix of the municipality due to decades of neglect. The bridge in Strojtanica, which has a high frequency of vehicles, instead of two directions with expansion, as planned, was strangely made into only one lane. It was placed on one foot, which caused subsidence. The pollution is also enormous due to the daily burning of tires in the Roma settlement on the other side of the bridge in Strojtanica. If they even open the collector, we can freely start moving out," he said, emphasizing that the aforementioned villages with their granaries and vegetable crops can feed "half of Montenegro."
Blagota Perović from Strojtanica said that the residents of the aforementioned villages are united and will block the machines if they start building at that location.
"We are telling the local authorities not to subject us to harassment because we will certainly block the road. It will certainly not be built at this location," said Perović, adding that more than 600 families live in the aforementioned area and are directly endangered.
He pointed out that the locals are aware that the collector was originally planned several kilometers downstream, but that certain influential people at the time from the local government did not allow it.
EU: Contributing to improving the environment
The EU Delegation to Montenegro said that the wastewater treatment plant will solve a long-standing environmental problem for the citizens of Bijelo Polje and the wider region, that modern wastewater treatment plants do not pose an environmental problem for those living near the facility and that they represent a necessary prerequisite for environmental protection and public health.
"The EU Delegation has been informed that the expropriations have been successfully completed. The completion of national procedures was confirmed at regular meetings held by the EU Delegation with representatives of the Municipality, which resulted in a decision on the adequacy and availability of the location for the construction of the wastewater treatment plant. Given that the project has passed various levels of verification, in accordance with the requirements of national legislation and investors, it is expected that the construction contract will be signed upon completion of the current tender procedure, which should be completed by May 2025," the Media Team of the EU Delegation to Montenegro states.
Regarding the reasons for the delay in the project, the EU Delegation states:
“The construction of the main wastewater collector in Bijelo Polje, the first part of the project, was completed in 2018. The construction of the wastewater treatment plant is currently in the tendering phase, which followed a period of technical work required to update the conceptual design and initial environmental impact assessment, as well as prepare for the tendering process. The time dedicated to improving the existing technical documentation was necessary to align it with international standards and comply with relevant national procedures. This was particularly important because the main objective of this investment venture is to contribute to improving hygiene conditions in Bijelo Polje and to protect drinking water sources and environmental quality in areas downstream and influenced by the Lim River.”
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