GP URA: Korean company's withdrawal is proof that the government mismanaged the concession process, SDT to investigate the procedure

The withdrawal of the Korean company from the concession process for Montenegrin airports is the final confirmation that the Government has been leading the process for months without a clear plan and without transparency. Four months of uncertainty are behind us, and today the Government has neither a concessionaire nor an answer on how it will develop Montenegrin Airports.

This was announced by the Civic Movement URA, after the Government announced earlier today that it had received an official letter from the consortium led by the South Korean company Incheon International Airport Corporation stating that the group is withdrawing from further participation in the procedure for granting the concession for Airports of Montenegro.

The URA Airport Authority said that they had warned from the beginning that the procedure was conducted in a non-transparent manner and that instead of developing the airport, it had resulted in a blockade lasting several months.

"Four months were lost in political calculations and improvisation, while the Airports of Montenegro were left without investment and time that could have been used for modernization and preparation of new investments. Today it is clear that our warnings were justified," the movement said in a statement.

As they point out, the Government never responded to the questions raised by the URA Police Station throughout the entire procedure.

"We warned about changing the tender conditions, about serious doubts about the way bidders were scored, and about the lack of transparency in the process. Instead of a response, we got a process that ended with the withdrawal of the first-place bidder and complete uncertainty about the future of Montenegrin airports," the statement added.

The movement now emphasizes that it is necessary to establish responsibility for the way the entire process was conducted.

"We call on the Special State Prosecutor's Office to fully investigate all circumstances of the concession award procedure, including allegations of changing the tender conditions and possible political influences on decision-making. Citizens have the right to know how a process of strategic importance for Montenegro was brought to this situation," they stated in the statement, concluding that Montenegro must receive a transparent airport development model based on public interest and a clear strategy, not on improvisation and political calculations.