The companies "Admiral Holding" and "Roaming Montenegro" are the only bidders for the purchase of the old ruined business building of Barska Plovidba, with a total area of 1.872 square meters.
Executive Director of "Barska Plovidba" Boris Mihailović told "Vijesti" that "Admiral Holding" offered 1,95 million euros, and "Roaming Montenegro" 1,75 million.
The state-owned company announced the sale of this property, located in the center of Bar, on July 12, and offers were submitted until June 27. The company urgently needs money because it has a $1,8 million (about 1,55 million euros) installment payment to the Chinese Exism Bank due in ten days, and it also urgently needs to find at least 600 euros to save the ship "Kotor" that is trapped in the American port of Savannah.
Any postponement of this sale would mean new problems for "Barska Plovidba", but also for the ships of "Crnogorska Plovidba" that were taken over by "Barska".
The initial selling price of the property, as specified in the advertisement, was 1,75 million euros, and the criterion for selecting the best bidder was the offered price. So, "Roaming Montenegro" made an offer equal to the initial price, while "Admiral Holding" was 200 thousand euros better.
"The Commission submitted the minutes of the opening to the bidders and gave them until today to familiarize themselves with the entire documentation from the beginning of the process. The shareholders' assembly authorized me as the executive director to conduct the real estate sale procedure, I formed a commission that published an advertisement and two bidders responded to the advertisement. The Commission opened the bids and no public opening was planned. I expect the Commission to complete the work next week and submit a proposal to me. The Commission will assess whether it is necessary to engage experts for consultations before making a proposal for a decision," Mihajlović explained yesterday.
According to him, the commission assesses the correctness of the bids and compliance with the procedures prescribed in the advertisement, and he makes a final decision based on the commission's report.
"If I have any doubts regarding the entire procedure, I can hire professional help. Pursuant to point 14, "Barska plovidba" reserves the right to cancel the advertisement without additional explanation or obligations towards the bidders. The entire process must be completed either by canceling or signing a contract with the selected bidder by July 28, until when the bidder's guarantees are valid in accordance with the conditions required by the advertisement," said Mihailović.
According to the government's plan, which "Vijesti" previously wrote about, the money from its sale and from the sale of 67,56 square meters of office space in Belgrade should be used to save the Montenegrin state-owned shipping companies, "Barska" and "Crnogorska plovidba".
The buildings are located in attractive locations, the old administrative building in the center of Bar, on Marshal Tito Street, while the office space in Belgrade is located in the very center of the city, on Nikole Pašić Street. However, despite their location, these properties have been lying unused for years - the old building in Bar is dilapidated and 2005 percent of its area has not been used since 92, while the office space in Belgrade has been empty for more than two decades.
The old administrative building was built in 1966 and at the end of last year its value was estimated at 1.754.906,64 euros. Part of this building, which makes up eight percent of the total area, refers to offices leased to Prva Banka, which has been the company's tenant for many years.
The sale of these properties to the Ministry is urgent.
According to a document from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs on the need to urgently resolve the current liquidity problem of "Crnogorska plovidba", the money generated from the sale of these properties will be directed to repaying "Barska plovidba's" debt to the Chinese Exim Bank, and the remainder, in accordance with Government guidelines, will be used for other purposes, including supporting "Crnogorska plovidba", which is facing the threat of bankruptcy.
This plan is part of a broader model of business-technical cooperation by which “Barska plovidba” would take over the ships of “Crnogorska plovidba”, provide it with urgent liquidity and stabilize the state maritime sector. The contracts were signed in May and “Barska” took over two ships of “Crnogorska”, however, one of them, “Kotor”, has been blocked in the American port of Savannah for several days, first due to a minor malfunction, and then because “Barska” does not have the money to pay the costs of staying in that port. These costs have exceeded 600 thousand euros and are growing every day, and there is a danger that one of the creditors will initiate a forced collection of the ship. The Ministry of Maritime Affairs has announced in recent days that they are looking for a solution, but that they cannot provide state aid to any state maritime company because that would be a violation of the law.
"Crnogorska plovidba", which is fully state-owned, has already repaid loans to the Chinese Exim Bank for the purchase of ships, while "Barska" will be due a $1,8 million installment in the coming days. Previously, the state helped both companies repay their loans. "Crnogorska" therefore owes the state 34 million euros, while "Barska" still owes the Exim Bank about 22 million dollars, as well as 7,5 million euros to the government for the installment it previously paid on behalf of that company.
Bonus video:
