Until the incident at the end of last year, the Durmitor Tourist Center operated in accordance with all applicable regulations, its representatives announced, while authorities said that the issue of long-term investment in the ski resorts in Žabljak should be raised.
The President of the Board of Directors of Razvojna Banka, which owns the Durmitor Tourist Center, Nikola Tripković, said at a control hearing in the Parliamentary Anti-Corruption Committee regarding the incident that occurred at the end of last year at the Savin Kuk ski resort that tragedies happen in the world and that, unfortunately, they cannot be 100% prevented.
"We have a situation where one human life has been lost and trust in the tourism industry, one of the lifeblood of the economy in Žabljak, has been shaken. This is perhaps the best way for the state to act responsibly in terms of monitoring all potential causes and preventing future problems that may occur or possibly be prevented," said Tripković.
The topic of the control hearing was determining responsibility and verifying the management, maintenance and safety of the Savin Kuk ski resort on Durmitor, following an incident in which a young man was killed after falling out of a ski lift basket.
Tripković announced that on December 20, when the tragedy occurred, they stopped everything.
"When such an unfortunate event occurs, it is natural that, due to the orders of the investigative authorities who conducted an on-site investigation and survey, we block the entire operation of the Tourist Center. In order to unblock it, it was necessary to eliminate any possibility of any further problems," explained Tripković.
He added that until the tragic moment, the Durmitor Tourist Center operated absolutely in accordance with all applicable laws, procedures and permits necessary for its functioning.
"The extraordinary technical inspection that we requested is of a preventive type. An accident occurred on one of the five parts of the TC, Savin kuk 2. In addition, there is Savin kuk 1, which together with Savin kuk 2 forms the baskets, a cable car that leads to the top of the mountain. In addition to the baskets, there are also ski lifts, popularly called, or anchors, which are mostly used during the winter ski season," explained Tripković.
He said that a complete analysis down to the smallest possible detail was ordered, and two companies that they managed to find were hired.
"The good news in the accident is that we managed to get 100% technical serviceability for the rest of the ski resort, which was officially reopened on January 17th, less than a month after the accident, and managed to ensure a somewhat good tourist season," said Tripković.
He believes that we should be open and honest and say that trust has certainly been shaken.
"The initiative should start from here and we should all take on part of the task. This is a project of all of us, in order to restore the shaken trust and for Žabljak to gain importance," said Tripković.
He recalled that since 2013, when it received an order from the Government to buy back TC Durmitor from bankruptcy, the Investment and Development Fund (IRF) has been responsible towards that company and ensuring its functioning.
"In the 12 years that IRF has had a formal and legal connection with TC Durmitor, it has invested around four million euros. These are significant funds and we will continue to make them available," added Tripković.
The Minister of Tourism, Simonida Kordić, said that the situation had affected them all on a human level, while the Ministry of Tourism, although it had no specific jurisdiction, was affected from the perspective of its powers related to maintaining the winter season in Žabljak.
"We have contacted the owner of the ski resort, Razvojna banka, formerly IRF, requesting that an extraordinary inspection of the condition of the ski lifts be carried out and that this be done in cooperation with licensed companies and state institutions responsible for checking their correctness, in order to ensure that any similar incident does not occur again," said Kordić.
She said that an additional double check of the existing facilities in Žabljak was carried out.
"This is Savin Kuk 1, while the cable car on Savin Kuk 2, as far as I am informed, has been taken out of service," said Kordić.
She explained that skiing in Žabljak began on anchor-type lifts, which have since received positive results from an emergency inspection.
"The lack of participation of the cable car, which carries guests in baskets, has dealt a blow to skiing, but not so severe that Žabljak cannot recover from it, because during the ski season, about 85 percent of ski traffic is carried out on anchor-type cable cars. While these larger cable cars are more in use during the summer season, where they take visitors to viewpoints," explained Kordić.
According to data from the local Tourist Organization, as of January 23, Žabljak has recorded two thousand overnight stays, which is ten percent less than the previous year.
"That is understandable given these circumstances," Kordić added.
She also said that both cable cars are open and operating normally at this time.
Kordić recalled that an important meeting was held with Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, because this issue goes beyond the competence of the Ministry of Tourism, and added that it is crucial to open the issue of long-term investment in ski resorts in Žabljak.
The resigning director of the Durmitor Tourist Center, Marinko Purić, said that an extraordinary technical inspection confirmed that there was no doubt about the technical integrity of the installations.
He stated that the installations are 100 percent correct and that they are 100 percent ready for exploitation.
"We can have a report or technical inspections from any institution or country of the European Union (EU) - they will simply confirm the same thing, which is that it is within acceptable limits and that all installations are ready for exploitation, that is, that they were ready," claims Purić.
He said that the Savin Kuk 2 cable car was immediately taken out of service after the unfortunate event, and that it is questionable for the summer season.
"It's an installation that is in very inaccessible terrain and it's very difficult to do any more demanding reconstruction on it," Purić explained.
He recalled that on December 19th, the cable cars were put into operation, after an autumn overhaul in which they completed all the prescribed preparations and received all the necessary documentation.
"I can responsibly say that we have absolutely not had any shortcomings in documentation since I have been the executive director of the Tourist Center," Purić said.
He said that the investigation into the accident is ongoing, and that certain parts of the headquarters where the accident occurred are being examined.
Purić also stated that he expects a good visit to Durmitor in February and hopes for a successful season at the end of March.
The President of the Municipality of Žabljak, Radoš Žugić, announced that the ski infrastructure in Žabljak is unfortunately in a rather poor and dilapidated condition today.
"Such infrastructure cannot make Žabljak competitive when it comes to the winter tourist season, and we have long lost the race when it comes to prestigious winter tourist centers in the region," warned Žugić.
He said that the unfortunate event significantly shook trust in the infrastructure in Žabljak and that the consequences are still being felt today, given that the winter tourist season is not at the level they expected.
According to data from the local Tourist Organization, the number of overnight stays and guests in Žabljak has decreased by between ten and 15 percent compared to the previous year.
"This is an event that should have reminded us that the infrastructure is ripe for reconstruction and that the local government and the state must work together to solve this problem, so that Savin Kuk becomes the lifeblood, the driver of development and the carrier of the winter tourist season in the future," said Žugić.
The Minister of Public Works, Majda Adžović, said that this site was included in the capital budget of Montenegro in 2014.
"Since 2014, including last year, 9,96 million euros have been invested in this location," Adžović specified.
Regarding the expenditure of funds from the capital budget in relation to the Durmitor ski center, Adžović said that they have essentially slowed down since 2019, or almost reduced to zero.
"What the Ministry of Public Works is doing, not only in relation to this case, but also in numerous others, is that it is absolutely open to cooperation and is cooperating extensively with the competent prosecutor's offices and the Police Directorate in terms of providing data," added Adžović.
She believes that interdepartmental cooperation must exist in order to offer new added value, considering existing ski resorts and those planned in the future.
A member of parliament from the Democratic Party of Socialists, Jevto Eraković, assessed that the example of Žabljak best speaks to who we are and what our political situation is like in Montenegro.
"There was a clear intention and willingness of the Government in 2018 and 2019 to invest over eight million euros in the ski resort through the Directorate for Public Works," Eraković said.
He said that we all have to be united and united when it comes to large capital investments.
"This must be a big warning, because we wouldn't be discussing this topic if the new cable car that was planned had been installed," says Eraković.
Independent MP Jevrosima Pejović said that 84,7 euros were invested in the Savin Kuk ski resort last year, which shows how much of a priority Žabljak was.
"Since 2014, around ten million have been invested in the Savin Kuk ski resort. Most of that money went to reconstruction attempts, or rather, to upgrade it with UNESCO," Pejović said.
She said that zero euros were invested in 2015.
"All of this shows how neglected Žabljak was, how unfriendly it was treated. This is the best indication that this incident had to happen," Pejović believes.
Europe Now Movement MP Miodrag Laković said that the cable car was in operation and had been inspected.
"The investigative authorities will give their verdict on this, and in addition to the conclusion that accidents happen, we will also have an epilogue to this accident to find out what led to such a tragedy, because we have lost human lives and shaken trust in our institutions, which we must somehow restore," Laković added.
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