Two bids were received for the tender for the development of the main project for the continuation of the construction of the "Semolj" tunnel on the Mioska - Šavnik road route. They are currently being evaluated and the decision on the selection of the best bid will be made as soon as possible.
This was officially told to "Vijesti" by the Ministry of Public Works, which did not disclose the names of the bidders.
The tender worth 490 thousand euros with an additional 102 thousand for value added tax was announced in early December last year, and bids could be submitted until mid-January.
"The opening of bids was held on January 14, 2026, and two bids were received. The process of reviewing, evaluating and evaluating the submitted bids is currently underway. The Ministry of Public Works will, bearing in mind the importance of this project, invest its maximum efforts so that the decision on the selection of the correct and most favorable bid is made as soon as possible," the Ministry of Public Works stated.
The tunnel is part of the regional road R 21 Mioska-Šavnik and of the 1750-meter length, only 460 meters were drilled 50 years ago, after which work stopped.
The initiative to resolve this issue was taken by the Municipality of Šavnik, led by the Mayor. Jugoslav JakićThis municipality has also completed the project terms of reference.
Mayors of the municipalities of Šavnik, Žabljak, Mojkovac and Kolašin - Jugoslav Jakić, Radoš Žugić, Vesko Delic i Petko Bakić They sent a letter to the Prime Minister in March 2024. Milojko Spajić and requested a meeting regarding the completion of work on the "Semolj" tunnel.
Representatives of these four municipalities decided to reopen this issue because the tunnel would make life easier for the local population, enable a closer connection to the Bar - Boljare highway, unhindered transport of goods and passengers throughout the year, and better valorization of the economic potential of this region.
"The regional road R 21 Mioska - Šavnik was built in 1975 by the JNA and was conceived as a connection of two road routes from the north of Montenegro to the coast. Without the 'Semolj' tunnel, the length of the road is 52 kilometers, and if the road were fully functional, it would be the closest connection between the municipalities of the northwestern and northeastern regions. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to continue the work on the construction of the tunnel, which began 50 years ago. Of the planned 1750 meters in length, a total of 460 meters have been drilled on both sides and that's where it stopped. Of course, this would also include repairs to old works that have been damaged by the ravages of time, as well as those that are still pending, or the preparation of the necessary project documentation," they stated in the letter to the Prime Minister.
It was established that the very important role of this road is also that it is a connection with the highway.
"Although traffic communication has been significantly improved by the construction of the Risan - Žabljak road, for the municipalities of Šavnik and Žabljak it is necessary to fully enable the R 21 road by constructing the 'Semolj' tunnel, as a prerequisite for increasing the efficiency of the Mioska - Žabljak road route via Boan, which aims to improve the connection of the municipalities of Šavnik and Žabljak, with the municipalities of Kolašin and Mojkovac and further to Podgorica, and thus contribute to a more dynamic development of these municipalities and further improve the spatial capacities of the municipalities," the letter states.
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