The Chinese consortium Shandong Foreign Economic and Technical Cooperation Co. LTD and Shandong Liuqiao Group Co. LTD has been granted a deadline to extend the construction of the Tivat - Jaz boulevard and the new pipeline of the Regional Water Supply Company until May 31st of this year.
Work on this important coastal road, which officially began in August 2023, was scheduled to be completed tomorrow.
"The deadline for completion of the works defined in the contract was January 16, 2026, however, taking into account the scope and complexity of the project, as well as the circumstances on the ground, the works will continue in the coming period. Given the level of implementation of the works on the construction site, and the documentation submitted by the contractor on the planned activities in the coming period, a new deadline for completion of the works has been defined, with the date of May 31, 2026, i.e. by the beginning of the summer tourist season," the Transport Administration officially told "Vijesti".
The Directorate emphasized that the construction of the Tivat - Jaz boulevard represents one of the most significant and complex infrastructure projects currently being implemented in Montenegro. It is a project of strategic importance - a modern road 16,5 km long with four lanes, with newly defined roundabouts, reconstructed bridges, public lighting and sidewalks along the entire length of the boulevard. The value of the works is 54 million euros excluding VAT.
"From the very beginning, the works have been carried out in extremely complex conditions, under constant traffic on one of the busiest sections in the country, without a complete traffic stop, which further sets this project apart from standard practice in the implementation of infrastructure interventions of this type. In addition, other institutions, as well as local governments, are involved in the implementation of the project, which inevitably imposes the need for constant coordination of technical and organizational activities in the field. In addition to the construction of the boulevard, a clear need has been identified for the implementation of a certain number of infrastructure installations for coastal municipalities, which include the complete reconstruction and relocation of the existing CEDIS electricity network, the water supply and sewage infrastructure of the Municipality of Kotor, as well as a segment of the road infrastructure of the Municipality of Tivat," the Administration pointed out.
As they explained, these works were not foreseen in the original contract, and their implementation had an inevitable impact on the dynamics of the construction of the road.
Final price when the work is completed
"The Transport Administration, as an investor, insists on respecting the contracted obligations and deadlines, and is in constant and intensive communication with the contractor and all other entities involved in the implementation of the project. However, in infrastructure projects of this complexity, which involve the simultaneous execution of several different types of work and resolving numerous unforeseen situations on the ground, extending the deadline for the completion of the works represents a realistic and objectively conditioned outcome," the Administration explained.
When it comes to the financial aspects of the project and the possible increase in the price of the works due to the extension of the deadline for the execution of the works, it is important to emphasize, as they state, that the works are still ongoing and that, upon their completion, the final reconciliation of all situations and calculations will be initiated.
"For this reason, upon completion of all works and final coordination of the situation, the scope and reasons for any deviations from the value of the works defined in the contract will be precisely assessed. Only after that will it be possible to precisely determine the final financial structure of the project," the Administration said.
The main subcontractor of these works is the Podgorica-based construction company Bemax, and in parallel with the construction of the boulevard, the installation of a new branch of the pipeline of the Regional Water Supply System for the Montenegrin Coast between Budva and Tivat is being carried out, which is being carried out by another subcontractor.
The state entered the project of reconstruction of the Adriatic Highway between Tivat and Jaz into a boulevard-type road completely unprepared. The works, which were inaugurated in the presence of state leaders on August 11, 2023, stopped just 20 days later because it turned out that the Ministry of Spatial Planning and Urbanism had not issued a building permit to the Traffic Administration, due to the then still unresolved property and legal problems on the boulevard route through Grbalj. Although Prime Minister Dritan Abazović claimed to reporters at the ceremony marking the start of work on Lovanja near Tivat in August 2023 that his "Government has completed all its obligations for this project", it turned out that this was not the case, and the work was suspended at the end of that month, after "Bemax" completed preparatory work on the route from the Kotor intersection to Tivat, where this was the only thing that could be done at the time. Namely, only for this part of the route of the future boulevard was the expropriation of the property of the former agricultural estate "Montepranzo" from Tivat, over whose now former plots the carriageways of the new boulevard pass. Construction works resumed intensively only in January 2024, but even then not on the entire route of the new road.
A decade-long bottleneck
The Traffic Administration reminded that the Budva - Tivat road, with an average daily traffic of around 30.000 vehicles, is the busiest road in Montenegro and that for decades it has represented one of the key bottlenecks in the traffic network, especially during the summer tourist season. "With the construction of a modern boulevard with four lanes, this decades-old problem will be permanently solved, and citizens and tourists will get a safe, functional and modern road," they pointed out.
The Traffic Administration once again appeals to all road users to respect the temporary traffic signs on this section, at the locations where the works are being carried out, in order to preserve the safety of all road users and enable the works to proceed as planned.
"All these works aim to improve road infrastructure in the long term and raise the level of traffic safety in Montenegro," the Administration said.
No forgotten pipeline or new costs
The Regional Water Supply Company officially told "Vijesti" yesterday that there is no forgotten part of the pipeline in the project or missing quantities.
"After reviewing the complete project and contract documentation, and after additional analysis, it was concluded that all sections of the regional pipeline are foreseen by the Main Project and that the works are being carried out in accordance with the contracted scope. Unfortunately, some of the documentation and communication were made public at the time when it was in the preliminary analysis phase, which led to misinterpretations and upset of part of the general public," the state-owned company pointed out.
The regional water supply company was initially informed by the engineer, who is monitoring the execution of the works under the FIDIC contract, that the bill of quantities and preliminary estimates of the main project allegedly did not include around 1.300 m of pipes.
"Due to the urgency of the situation, and by order of the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Director of the company, it was ordered that all necessary technical and financial analyses be carried out immediately. After a detailed and comprehensive review of the complete project and contract documentation, it was determined that the Contractor and Engineer did not adequately review the bill of quantities and estimates, and that the contract includes all the necessary quantities of pipes for the completion of the regional water supply pipeline that is being built parallel to the boulevard on the Jaz - Tivat section. Accordingly, there is no "forgotten" part of the pipeline, nor missing quantities in the project," the company emphasized.
They added that all pipes contracted and invoiced under this project have been fully paid for in accordance with the contract and applicable procedures.
The company said that to date, no request for additional payment has been submitted regarding the procurement of pipes, nor is the Regional Water Supply Company aware that such a request is in the pipeline.
"The project does not currently incur additional costs on this basis. We would like to emphasize once again that this is an extremely complex project of simultaneous construction of a boulevard and a regional water supply system, implemented by two investors, in the area with the highest traffic frequency in the country. The implementation process involves intensive internal communication and exchange of documents, and the use of working and analytical materials that are not final, without considering the broader context, may lead to erroneous conclusions and unnecessary public disturbance," the company emphasized.
The regional water utility announces that, in order to protect the interests of the company and the proper implementation of the project, it will initiate appropriate activities towards the contractor, and especially towards the Supervision, bearing in mind that the previous actions were not at the level of professional obligations expected in such a complex project.
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