Shareholders call on Alabaru to buy Solana

Shareholders of the bankrupt Bajo Sekulić Saltworks announced that, in accordance with the Administrative Court's ruling, the time has come to change the owner of almost 15 million square meters of land belonging to the oldest Ulcinj collective, and invited the Arab billionaire Mohamed Alabara to consider the possibility of purchasing an attractive location.

In a letter to "Vijesti", the shareholders stated that they had publicly addressed the bankruptcy trustee. Miloš Popović, expressing dissatisfaction with the inefficiency of state authorities in the process of respecting court decisions concerning property and legal issues related to Solana, necessary for the closure of negotiation chapter 27.

"More than two and a half months have passed since we received the Administrative Court's ruling, which removes the state as the owner, on the grounds that it was registered without grounds. However, the paradox is that despite the court ruling, the state has not yet been deleted from the real estate register. We believe that this state of disrespect for court rulings cannot be tolerated any longer and that it is high time to stop the inaction and manipulative actions of state institutions that are obliged to carry out the necessary actions to register Solana as the owner of its land," the shareholders state.

Shareholders expect concrete steps towards launching sustainable projects in the Saltworks area, emphasizing that it is important to find a strategic partner who will guarantee the preservation of salt production, but also the development of tourist capacities in accordance with the criteria of the Nature Park.

On April 28, 2025, the Administrative Court issued a judgment accepting the claims of the bankruptcy debtor Solana "Bajo Sekulić" and the state of Montenegro, annulling the decision of the Ministry of Finance of June 15, 2022, and thus challenging the registration of the state as the owner of the land.

"In order for the state to be able to realize its claims regarding ownership rights to the real estate in question, it would be necessary to possibly initiate civil proceedings in which the merits of the request for determination of ownership rights would be discussed, unless it concerns land over which the state could have ownership rights ex lege, given the category of land," the judgment states, among other things.

Protector of property and legal interests of Montenegro Bojana Cirovic She told "Vijesti" regarding the Administrative Court's ruling that the land of Solana is undoubtedly state-owned and that the Privatization Council confirmed this by adopting an opinion that market compensation for the real estate belonging to that company had not been paid. She stated that this opinion was also confirmed by the Supreme Court and assessed that the procedure was not returned for the purpose of re-examination, but for re-proceeding in order to eliminate irregularities related to the registration in the cadastre.

However, the shareholders of the Saltworks, among whom Eurofond is the largest, then announced that the Administrative Court's ruling had annulled the illegal registration of the land of the "Bajo Sekulić" Saltworks as state property.

They claimed that the court had also determined that Solana was never state property, but rather the property of a joint-stock company, whose shares were listed on the stock exchange.

They said that the previous government's decision to register the property of a private company as state-owned, without a court, without compensation, and without legal basis, was legally challenged and overturned.

Shareholders now expect concrete steps towards launching sustainable projects in the Saltworks area, emphasizing that it is important to find a strategic partner who will guarantee the preservation of salt production, but also the development of tourist capacities in accordance with the criteria of the Nature Park.

"We invite, in accordance with previous interest, Mohamed Alabar to consider, together with the Commercial Court, the possibility of purchasing the Solana site, as well as the implementation of development projects that will combine traditional salt production with modern tourist facilities. Only in this way can Solana once again become an engine of local development, with full respect for environmental standards and the protection of natural resources," the letter states.

Shareholders point out that experiences from the current tourist season clearly show the need for Montenegro to move from spontaneous to planned and sustainable development.

"It is time for Montenegro and Montenegrin society to finally learn their lessons and turn to the valorization of natural and economically viable projects. Solana can be an example of how tradition and nature can be connected with modern investments, for the benefit of all citizens and the local community," it concludes.

Solana has been in programmed bankruptcy since 2005 and in classic bankruptcy since 2011.

The last salt harvest was in 2013.

The fate of that company is crucial for closing the environmental chapter in the negotiations between Montenegro and the European Union.

It is one of the key conditions for closing Chapter 27 and progressing towards EU membership.

This implies a clear ownership and management status of this area, which was declared a nature park in 2019 and included in the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance.