Decision on airport concession to be made by the Government on July 17th

The government will most likely consider the decision on granting concessions for Montenegrin airports on July 17, Vijesti has learned from the top of the executive branch.

Vijesti's interlocutor said that after the Tender Commission for the implementation of the concession award procedure for Montenegrin airports "unanimously determined the ranking list of bidders," the Government could consider the Proposal for a Decision on the Selection of the Most Favorable Bid at its session on July 17.

The tender commission, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Nik Đeljošaj, completed the evaluation of bids and compiled a ranking list of bidders on Friday, July 4. Vijesti's interlocutor said that all members of the commission have expressed their opinions on this.

The South Korean company "Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC)" received 96,18 points and was ranked first in the tender for the concession for Montenegrin airports, while the Luxembourg-American "Corporación América Airports" (CAAP) ranked second with 65,18 points.

The Tender Commission is now obliged to submit to the Ministry of Transport a ranking list of bidders, a Proposal for a decision on the selection of the most favorable bid, a Report on the conducted procedure with an explanation of the ranking list of bidders, and a Minutes on the course of the procedure.

The deadline for submitting documentation to the Ministry of Transport is Wednesday, July 9, and Đeljošaj scheduled a session for the day before, at which, as he announced, the commission will decide on reports and possible decisions towards the competent ministry.

In order to submit a report to the Ministry of Transport, all members of the commission need to sign it, as well as the minutes of the meeting.

"The Tender Commission continued the session it had started today, where we analyzed the IFC report for financial offers. After the end of that session, we held a new session to evaluate the technical and financial offers and determine the ranking list. I have scheduled a new session for Tuesday, at which the Tender Commission will decide on the reports and possible decisions towards the competent ministry. I would like to announce that during the session, the IFC refused to answer my questions and take responsibility, which we noted in the minutes. We will inform the public in a timely manner about the further process and the decisions that the Tender Commission will make on Tuesday," Đeljošaj said on July 4.

He then added that he wanted to point out that every decision becomes official when signed by all members of the commission.

"So I do not want to comment on media captions that are deliberately published in order to further compromise the process by a member of the Tender Commission, which is a criminal offense, because our work is marked as 'internal'," Đeljošaj said on July 4.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić asked ministers whose employees are members of the tender commission to complete the technical part of the evaluation of the financial part of the two submitted bids at the session the day before yesterday.

In June, the government extended the deadline for the Tender Commission to complete its work and submit its report by one month, to July 9. This was done due to a dispute between commission members from the Ministry of Finance, the Prime Minister's Office and representatives of the Union of Municipalities on the one hand, and colleagues from the Ministry of Transport and Đeljošaj on the other, as well as Đeljošaj's dispute with the IFC, which is part of the World Bank and is a consultant on the project.

The commission evaluated the technical part of the bids twice and allowed the Koreans to proceed to the second round, which evaluated the financial part of the bids, only after the IFC intervened, claiming that the tender rules on voting were not respected.

At the end of June, Đeljošaj told the IFC on his own behalf that he would not continue the airport concession procedure until the consultant signs a notarized statement assuming material and legal responsibility for any damage Montenegro may suffer due to his legal interpretations in the deal, and accused him of working for a South Korean company. IFC has not received a response.

Because of this letter, as sources confirmed to "Vijesti", Spajić planned to open a discussion at the session on Thursday about a possible new delay in the tender process, but Đeljošaj did not come to the session.

"Vijesti" sources claim that Đeljošaj did not respond to calls and messages sent to him regarding his attendance at the Government session.

Đeljošaj told "Vijesti" that "he did not attend the Government session due to the long duration of the meeting", and that the committee session that day was postponed due to his obligations in the Parliament. That day, he explained to the MPs three draft laws from the Ministry of Economic Development, which he heads.