National Parks No Longer Managed: Solana Embraced by Bankruptcy Administration

The National Parks of Montenegro have no longer managed the Bajo Sekulić Saltworks since the beginning of February, the long-announced formation of a company that would manage the oldest Ulcinj company is still in the fog, the bankruptcy administration has not announced itself for months, and former workers are protesting because their debts have not been paid since the end of 2023.

This is a cross-section of the current state of Solana, which is probably experiencing its most difficult days since its founding in the 1930s.

The National Parks "News" confirmed that the lease agreement for the saltworks expired on February 7th of this year.

"National Parks managed the entire property of the 'Bajo Sekulić' Saltworks based on the Lease Agreement from 2015, which was extended based on annexes concluded with the bankruptcy trustee. This Lease Agreement expired on February 7, 2025," the public company said.

As explained, after the lease agreement expired, the company has not yet received approval from the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development. This approval is the basis for establishing a relationship on the basis of which activities are carried out in this area.

"The formal and legal powers of the public company do not exist from the date of the expiration of the contract, that is, from February 7, 2025, but appreciating the importance of this unique space, the former employees of the Solana continued with the activities and tasks of security, physical and technical protection of property and prevention of illegal actions at the Ulcinj Salt Pan. We certainly expect the formation of the management body of the Ulcinj Salt Pan Nature Park, which we consider an important step towards defining a permanent solution for the future of this protected area," said the National Parks, adding that they remain open to continued cooperation and are ready to contribute to the protection and preservation of this important area.

The bankruptcy trustee is silent.

Solana's bankruptcy administrator Miloš Popović did not respond to "Vijesti's" questions sent to the number available to the editorial staff.

We asked him whether the contract with the National Parks for the lease of the Saltworks expired at the beginning of February, what was the reason for the termination of the contract, whether there is a possibility of renewing cooperation or whether the management body is waiting to be formed, and whether the bankruptcy administration may be planning to hold a new auction for the sale of the property.

When it comes to forming the management structure of the Saltworks, "Vijesti" previously announced that the Government and the Municipality of Ulcinj are negotiating on the topic, but that there are different views on possible management models.

Although the Mayor of Ulcinj, Genci Nimanbegu, stated at the time that his intention was for the new company to be formed by the end of last year, this did not happen.

According to information provided by "Vijesti", there is little chance that a draft decision on this will soon be on the agenda of the local parliament.

As planned, the Municipality of Ulcinj would be a co-owner with the Government in the newly formed company Nature Park "Ulcinj Saltworks".

The establishment of a company also requires the consent of the Government.

Back in 2021, the Municipality planned to take over the management of the Salt Pans from the National Parks, but gave up because it had not created the legal prerequisites to enter into that business at the time.

After the adoption of the decision at the session of the local parliament on June 24, 2019, Ulcinjska Solana was declared a protected area - Nature Park.

Former workers appeal to overcome the current situation

"We are unpleasantly surprised that we have not received the money from the payment made by the National Parks in November 2024 in the amount of 32 thousand euros. The previous practice was for the bankruptcy trustees to pay the majority of the rent money to the workers, and this has been the case since 2015. The last payment to the former workers of the Ulcinj Saltworks in the amount of 200 euros was on December 30, 2023," states the letter to "Vijesti", signed by the representative of the union of former workers Saša Mitrović.

The letter further states that the workers do not know what happened because the bankruptcy trustee is not answering their calls.

"We know that the bankruptcy administration also has costs for conducting bankruptcy proceedings, but 32.000 euros is a lot of money and according to our calculations, for 60 workers, this would be a payment of 400 to 500 euros. We would like to point out that our colleagues, 21 of whom, most of whom are former workers hired by the National Parks, have not received their salaries for two months due to failure to sign the annex to the contract. And on their behalf, we ask that this problem be resolved as soon as possible," the letter states.

The national parks last paid money to the bankruptcy administration in November last year.

"The last payment to the bankruptcy administration of the Bajo Sekulić Saltworks was made on November 21.11.2024, 2024, for four months. For this purpose, during 32.010,55, 26.190,45 euros were paid, and the debt is XNUMX euros. The current financial situation in the National Parks has made it impossible to continue paying the lease, and the company expects a payment for this purpose from the relevant Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development after the adoption of the budget," the National Parks announced to "Vijesti" in January.