The Government of Montenegro has not yet received the documentation on the concession of Montenegrin airports, so Prime Minister Milojko Spajić will not comment on the blanket assessments of DNP leader Milan Knežević and others - until a decision is made in this process. The advisor in this matter was the International Finance Corporation (IFC), so the Government is guided by the best international standards, in addition to the law and public interest.
This was officially told to "Vijesti" by Spajić's office.
The editorial team sought answers after Knežević on Thursday called on the prosecution to question him and everyone in the government about whether the selection of "Incheon International Airport Corporation" as the concessionaire of the Airport of Montenegro (ACG) - is paying for the silence of the South Korean state about the alleged business connections between Do Kwon and Spajić. He also said that the current head of the Ministry of Transport, Filip Radulović, will soon submit a proposal for the South Koreans to receive a concession over the airports.
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Do Kwon is a South Korean cryptocurrency entrepreneur who was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud in the United States. He was extradited to that country by Montenegro in late 2024.
"The documentation related to this process has not yet been submitted to the Government, and therefore the Prime Minister will not comment on the blanket assessments made not only by Knežević but also by all others, until the decision on granting the concession is made in accordance with the best interests of the state of Montenegro. We note that the advisor in this process was the World Bank - International Finance Corporation, and to that end, in addition to respecting the law and public interest, the Government will be guided with full commitment by the application of the best international standards in this area," said Spajić's Cabinet.
They emphasized that, according to the Law on Concessions, the decision in this process is made by the Government and that the Ministry of Transport is obliged to send them complete documentation. They also pointed out that the concession procedure for the allocation of airports in Podgorica and Tivat was initiated in 2018 and included two phases, with the first pre-qualification phase being completed in 2019 with the submission of applications for participation in the procedure.
"For the sake of complete and truthful information to the public, the "Incheon International Airport Corporation" consortium is not qualified to participate in the further concession procedure by this Government, and therefore any connection between the President of the 44th Government Spajić and the first-ranked bidder has no basis whatsoever, taking into account the fact that during that period he was not part of the institutions of Montenegro, nor of the decision-making system on any basis," the Cabinet emphasized.
They emphasized that the tender part of this work was carried out by a Tender Commission of 13 members, including six representatives of the Ministry of Transport, headed by the Minister of Transport, two representatives of the Ministry of Finance and one each from the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro, the Ministries of Spatial Planning and State Property, Defense, representatives of Spajić's cabinet, the president and secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development...
The cabinet stated that the Tender Commission, according to the concession act from 2018, in the drafting of which they did not participate, carried out the administrative and professional work of selecting the most economically advantageous bid, that is, the evaluation of bids and determination of the ranking list were carried out by the commission responsible for that.
In the current race for the concession of the Tivat and Podgorica airports, the South Korean company "Incheon International Airport Corporation" is ranked first with 96,18 points, while the Luxembourg-American company "Corporación América Airports" (CAAP) is in second place with 65,15 points.
At the end of January, the DNP announced that they were leaving the state government and the ruling coalition in Podgorica, which Knežević announced at a press conference, after the party's Presidency accepted the resignations of Deputy Prime Minister Milun Zogović and Minister of Transport Maja Vukićević from those positions.
This was preceded by the Government's refusal to support their demands for resolving identity issues, namely - introducing the Serbian language as an official language, amending the Law on Montenegrin Citizenship (introducing dual citizenship with Serbia), as well as standardizing the tricolor as the "national flag". In addition, the DNP also demanded a dialogue on the, for them, controversial construction of a wastewater treatment plant in Botun.
The people of Tivat do not provide income from the Tivat Airport
The President of the Municipality of Tivat, Željko Komnenović, announced that the municipality will not agree to any reduction in its share of the compensation that Montenegro would potentially receive from the concession of its airports.
He announced yesterday that the leadership of that municipality was not informed about the motives and details of the amendment to this law.
The current Law on Financing Local Self-Governments stipulates that municipalities will receive 70 percent of concession and other fees, while the Government, in the amendments to that law adopted at its session on Thursday, proposes that the amount of 75 percent of the revenue from the fixed part of the airport use fee represents "earmarked revenue" and be used for the implementation of infrastructure projects of strategic importance in the territory of the municipality where the airport is located.
"As a local government, we did not participate in these changes. Understanding the current political situation in the country and understanding the position of the Municipality of Zeta, on whose territory the Podgorica Airport is located, Tivat wants to preserve the public interest and ensure the dynamics of investments in infrastructure facilities that the city lacks. The Government is aware of our position that we will not agree to any reduction in the amount compared to the one that is due to us under the existing legal solutions," he said.
Komnenović pointed out that they received assurances from the Government that the proposed changes would not affect the essence of directing the fixed part of the concession fee for the infrastructure needs of the municipality.
The municipality of Zeta announced yesterday that the Government had directly attacked the municipalities of Zeta and Tivat, stating that the existing system does not provide for the obligation to direct part of the revenue from the concession fee in a clear and targeted manner towards the development of local infrastructure and projects of strategic importance for the municipality on whose territory the airport is located.
"This is a direct attack on the municipalities of Zeta and Tivat, on whose territory the airports are located, and this draft law is no surprise given previous decisions that are directly directed against the interests of Zeta and our people, and represents another in a series of laws that seek to slow down the growth and development of the youngest municipality, all with the aim of disciplining our municipality, which began with the shameful police action in Botun at the end of the year," the statement said.
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