If the new assessment of the value of the permanent assets of the Airport of Montenegro exceeds 150 million euros, the final decision on whether and to whom the Tivat and Podgorica airports will be assigned for management will be made by the Parliament of Montenegro, not the Government.
The Ministry of Transport told "Vijesti" that it requested this assessment in order to precisely determine whether the value of the state-owned company's fixed assets exceeds the legal threshold of 150 million euros, which will determine whether the decision on the concession is made by the Government or the Parliament.
According to the Law on State Property, property above 150 million is decided by the legislative branch.
The tender commission for granting Montenegrin airports under concession completed its work last year and sent the documentation to the Ministry of Transport, which, in accordance with Article 31, paragraph 1 of the Law on Concessions, published the ranking list of bidders.
According to the ranking, the South Korean company "Incheon International Airport Corporation" (IIAC) ranked first with 96,18 points, while the Luxembourg-American company "Corporación América Airports" (CAAP) ranked second with 65,15. The tender was announced in 2019.
The second-ranked company, CAAP, filed an appeal with the State Concessions Commission, but it was rejected as unfounded.
The last assessment of the state-owned enterprise's fixed assets was carried out in 2021 and amounted to 122 million euros.
"The Law on State Property, Article 29 stipulates the following: "The Parliament of Montenegro shall decide on the disposal of items and other goods in state property exceeding the value of 150.000.000 euros, upon the proposal of the Government. Based on the above, in order to determine whether the decision on the concession is made by the Government or the Parliament, it is necessary to carry out an assessment of the property that is the subject of the concession granting procedure. Bearing in mind the above, the Ministry of Transport has requested the State Property Administration to assess the property in order to unambiguously and transparently determine the jurisdiction for making a decision in the legal matter in question," the Ministry of Transport officially told "Vijesti".
With this portfolio after the resignation of the Minister Maje Vukićević coordinated by the Minister of Maritime Affairs Filip Radulović who commissioned this appraisal from the property management.
"The last valuation of real estate, land, equipment and intangible assets, according to ACG data, was carried out in 2021, according to which these assets were valued at 122 million euros. Bearing in mind that due to the passage of time, the last valuation cannot be considered relevant for making a decision, it was assessed that it is necessary to proceed with the preparation of a new valuation of the assets that will enable a transparent and legally based decision-making on the jurisdiction between the Parliament and the Government," they said in this government department.
As they explained, the property valuation may affect the further course of the concession tender, exclusively in the area of competence for making the final decision on the selection of the first-ranked bidder, where in the event that, according to the valuation, the property is less than 150 million euros, the decision would be made by the Government, and in the event that the property is estimated at over 150 million, the Parliament, at the proposal of the Government.
"The property valuation cannot affect the cancellation of the concession tender, bearing in mind that the tender is being conducted in accordance with the Law on Concessions, according to which the Tender Commission conducted the bid evaluation procedure and determined the ranking list of bidders. After the procedure has been conducted by the Tender Commission, the Ministry of Transport is obliged to forward the complete documentation to the Government of Montenegro for decision-making, in accordance with Article 33 of the Law on Concessions. Therefore, after completing the documentation in terms of obtaining the opinion of the Protector of Property and Legal Interests and the competent government departments, as well as performing the property valuation, the documentation will be completed and sent by the Ministry of Transport to the Government of Montenegro for consideration and decision-making," the Ministry of Transport said.
Considering, as they say in this department, the imprecise information that appeared in the media, they are taking this opportunity to once again point out that the Tender Commission had the exclusive jurisdiction to determine the ranking list of bidders, and that the Ministry of Transport has the jurisdiction to complete the documentation (in terms of Article 33 of the Law on Concessions) and submit it to the Government of Montenegro.
"Therefore, the ranking list of bidders cannot be changed by either the Ministry of Transport or the Government, but the Government or the Parliament (depending on the assessment of the assets) can make a Decision on granting the concession or reject it as such. We also take this opportunity to note that granting the concession does not imply the privatization of the company Aerodromi CG, but only granting the concessionaire the right to manage movable and immovable property for the duration of the concession. After the end of that period, all movable and immovable property built/acquired by the concessionaire in accordance with the mandatory investment program remains the property of the State of Montenegro," the Ministry of Transport said.
They also stated that ownership of all current/future movable and immovable property remains the exclusive property of the State of Montenegro and cannot be transferred to the concessionaire on any grounds.
"A concession implies the leasing of movable and immovable property that is state-owned in accordance with the Law on State Property," the Ministry of Transport emphasized.
More than 12 million invested since the tender announcement
The state-owned company "Vijesti" said that the book value of ACG's total assets as of December 31, 2025, is 185 million euros.
"Of this, the book value of fixed assets (land, buildings, equipment, etc.) is 123 million euros, while current assets (receivables, inventories and cash) are 62 million euros. We would like to point out, however, that the entries for 2025 have not yet been completed and that this value may differ from that which will be shown in the final financial statements. For this reason, we also provide information that as of December 31, 2024, the book value of total assets was 181 million euros, of which the value of fixed assets was 122 million euros, while current assets at that time amounted to 59 million euros," ACG stated.
As they added, for financial reporting purposes, the company estimated the value of fixed assets (fixed assets as part of total assets) as of December 31, 2021, in accordance with international accounting standards.
"The estimated value of fixed assets at that time was 122 million euros. This assessment was made by the consulting company Crowe MNE doo Podgorica," ACG pointed out.
In the period from 2019 (when the concession tender process was launched) until 2025, a total of over 12 million euros was invested.
"This involves the construction of Terminal 2 in Tivat, a canopy over the technical passage in Podgorica, landscaping of green areas, expansion of the existing commercial parking lot, which is a temporary solution in Podgorica, digging a channel for installing a 10kV power cable to provide an additional source of electricity supply, as well as minor adaptations and reconstruction of existing facilities," ACG said.
They further state that there are also purchases of specialized airport equipment, both security and equipment for servicing aircraft, passengers and goods (X-rays, ETD explosive detection devices, electric stairs, baggage trolley tractors, ambulances, container loaders, aircraft power generators, toilet service vehicles, aircraft drinking water supply vehicle, de-icing vehicle, ambulift, fire truck, BHS baggage belt system), as well as purchases of other equipment....
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