The Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Ulcinj has opened a case regarding the theft of sand that was extracted from the Bojana riverbed and stored at the so-called fork seven years ago, according to a project by the Water Administration, "Vijesti" has learned.
In 2019, the Water Administration received approval to sell 139 cubic meters of this sand at the then starting price of six euros (the cost of its extraction), meaning the total quantity would be worth over a million euros. The interlocutor of "Vijesti" said that the prices of such sand are now up to four times higher.
The Basic State Prosecutor's Office informed "Vijesti" that a case has been opened for the theft of sand against one legal entity and its responsible person, namely the director. This was done based on a criminal report from the Ulcinj Police Department, due to reasonable suspicion that they committed the criminal offense of stealing state-owned sand.
It is not known how much sand is left.
According to information from “Vijesti”, sand has been stolen for years and it is not known how much of it is there. “Vijesti” sent questions to the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, the Water Administration and the State Property Administration about how much sand has been sold so far and at what price, who was it given away to (the capital and the Municipality of Bar for the reconstruction of the stadium surface), how much there was at the beginning, and how much now. The Ministry and the Water Administration responded that the issues are within the jurisdiction of the State Property Administration. “Vijesti” is still waiting for a response from these institutions.
"The pile of sand is getting smaller, it's been moving away little by little lately and at night," an interlocutor who has a house nearby told "Vijesti".
Another interviewee of "Vijesti" sent a video of a truck carrying sand from a fork last weekend.
"Until yesterday, there was an excavator there, today it's gone. They say it's state property and that they have all the papers to carry sand," he told "Vijesti".
The reports themselves and official documents mention varying amounts of that sand.
A 2019 report by the Water Administration states that sand extraction was necessary to improve the flow of the right branch of the Bojana, which was completely closed in August 2017. In June 2018, the removal of excess sand began.
From 260 to 107 thousand cubic meters
According to the project to maintain the flow of the right branch of the Bojana River, about 260.000 cubic meters had to be removed from the fork and mouth of the right branch of the Bojana River. The estimated value of the works was about 800.000 euros. The selected Podgorica company "Cijevna komerc" was supposed to complete the entire work, which it started in June 2018, by the end of the same year.
The then director of the Water Administration, Damir Gutić, said at the time that the sand was being disposed of at a "designated location" and was not being sold, although some Ulcinj opposition parties had previously publicly claimed the opposite.
"The material is being deposited, stored, and after all entities responsible for monitoring the cleanup project have determined the quantity, the Government will decide how to carry out the valorization," Gutić told "Vijesti" at the time.
The Water Administration, the Public Works Directorate and the Public Enterprise "Morsko dobro" announced at the time that "the sand will be used partly as a construction material, and partly for the revitalization of beaches that are suffering from erosion due to natural processes."
In March 2019, the Water Administration and the Coastal Development Authority signed an agreement to use part of this sand to fill and replenish the beach on Ada Bojana. As stated in the report, 112 thousand cubic meters were used to fill this beach, expanding the beach by 31 thousand square meters. The sand was provided to the Coastal Development Authority free of charge.
The Water Authority wanted to sell, but then gave up.
The Water Administration states that in 2019, Morsko dobro replied that they did not need any more sand to fill the beaches, which is why the report states that there were 139 thousand cubic meters of sand left for sale.
"The starting price per cubic meter of extracted material will be set at the estimated market value, but it cannot be lower than the cost price (5,95 euros per cubic meter), which will be determined by the Commission in accordance with the Regulation on the Sale and Lease of State-Owned Property, which regulates the manner, procedure, conclusion of contracts and conditions for the sale of state property," the Water Administration's 2019 Report stated, noting to the Government that it is necessary to obtain its consent for the sale of extracted sand from the fork as construction material.
The Government of Milojko Spajić adopted the Information for the provision, free of charge, of deposited sand from the Bojana River fork to the Capital City of Podgorica and the Municipality of Bar. The sand is intended for the reconstruction of the surface of football fields at city stadiums, in quantities of: 2.500 cubic meters - to the Capital City of Podgorica and 5.000 to the Municipality of Bar.
This information states that the Water Administration subsequently requested changes to the 2019 conclusion, believing that it was not competent to sell state property, and then that in April 2022 the Government tasked the then Cadastre and State Property Administration with initiating the procedure for selling sand from the fork in accordance with the Law on State Property, in the amount of 107 thousand cubic meters. It is not stated what happened to the difference of up to 139 thousand cubic meters from the 2019 report.
The Information from January this year states that in June last year, at the presentation of the results of the implementation of the second phase of the Ada Bojana rehabilitation project, the importance of preserving sand reserves deposited on Ada itself, as well as along the banks of the Bojana River, was particularly emphasized, which, as announced at the time, must be used exclusively for the purpose of beach nourishment through the construction of winter protective embankments.
Mila: Sand is essential for maintaining the beach on Ada
The executive director of "Ulcinj Riviera", which manages the nudist resort on Ada, Armend Mila, said that he is opposed to using this sand for any other purpose than to nourish the beaches on Ada, including for the reconstruction of stadiums in Podgorica and Bar.
"I learned from the media that sand is being carried from the fork. I am categorically against it, because we have to replenish the beach every year and we have to create artificial dunes in order to provide for the settlement. In general, unfortunately, there will always be a shortage of sand and I am honestly not in favor of it, although let's be clear, that amount of ten thousand cubic meters of sand for the stadiums compared to the amount that exists there is really a small percentage, but in any case, I believe that this sand must be part of our area, our climate, because we have to replenish the beach every now and then," Mila told "Vijesti".
Investigation affects delay in Podgorica stadium reconstruction
The prosecutor's investigation into the theft of sand from Bojana has caused the reconstruction of the city stadium in Podgorica to be interrupted, which could affect the deadlines for using this stadium for domestic and international competitions of Podgorica's clubs and national team.
This fine sand from Bojana is used as part of the terrain base that is filled before the natural grass rolls are laid. According to unofficial information from "Vijesti", the city administration and the contractor are trying to provide the missing quantities of fine sand in other ways.
In January, the government approved that the Capital City could receive 2.500 cubic meters of sand from Bojana for free, but only part of that was used.
The Municipality of Bar previously used its allocated amount of 5.000 cubic meters and completed the reconstruction of the terrain in Topolica.
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