If the Government accepts the only bid received in the tender for the construction of the first phase of the residential complex on Velje Brdo, the construction cost per net square meter of residential space will amount to 2.808,54 euros excluding utility and land costs, which is 413 euros per square meter more than the current average price per square meter of a newly built apartment in Podgorica for commercial sale.
The smallest apartment being built according to this project will have 60 square meters of living space, meaning its cost price according to this offer will be 168.512 euros.
The story of the construction of a gigantic settlement on Velje Brdo for 40 thousand residents began in September 2024, seven days before the local elections, when it was promised that the price of an apartment would be 1.000 euros. It was also promised at that time that the move-in would take place in mid-2026.
Why would the state lose money?
These costs will be financed from the state budget. Minister of Spatial Planning Slaven Radunović He recently said again that apartments in the first phase will be sold to citizens for 1.000 euros per square meter, and that construction costs will be included in the subsequent phases. However, it is still unclear on what basis the difference will be financed from the budget at the expense of all citizens.
The Ministry of Public Works announced two days ago that the only and therefore most favorable bid in the tender for the construction of the first phase of the Velje Brdo residential complex with 185 apartments was selected from a consortium led by "Fidija", which offered to build these apartments at a price of 40.049.774 euros.
According to the project, this phase has 185 apartments, of which 79 apartments are 100 square meters and 106 apartments are 60 square meters, which is a total of 14.260 square meters of net area of all apartments.
When the total cost of building apartments, according to the selected offer, of 40,04 million, is divided by the number of square meters of living space that would be built, the construction cost per square meter is 2.808,54 euros.
Still no studies for water and sewage
These costs include the construction of the buildings themselves, landscaping of the yard and parking lots and infrastructure on those plots, i.e. everything that is the investor's obligation when building any building for commercial sale. The costs do not include the purchase of land because it is state-owned, as well as the construction of infrastructure to the location. The construction of the boulevard itself through the settlement, for this and subsequent phases, will cost 31 million, while it is still unknown how the issue of water supply and drainage of atmospheric and fecal wastewater will be resolved for the future settlement and whether it will be technically possible at all.
Geological surveys of the Mareze and Velji Brdo areas have begun, which should provide an answer to whether the future settlement on this hill threatens the largest city water source located below it. The results of this survey, according to the signed contract, should be known in September 2027. The municipal company "Water Supply and Sewerage" is also conducting research on whether and from where it is possible to provide water for the future settlement without jeopardizing the city's water supply, as well as how and where to drain atmospheric and fecal sewage from this location.
The preliminary design of the settlement envisages that the sewage system from Velje Brdo will be led directly to the new treatment plant near Botun, because such a capacity cannot be connected directly to the network through Podgorica, but also that by then the buildings could be connected to septic tanks.
Podgorica's "Vodovod" previously conditioned the issuance of its consent for any construction on Velje Brdo until geological and hydrological research was completed. Prime Minister Milojko Spajic then, in a post on social media, he accused "Vodovod", whose director Aleksandar Nišavić, that they are "the bottleneck of the Velje Brdo project and are constantly holding up the unified tender for the road, water, sewage and electricity", which is why they will "launch an offensive for shifts there".
After that, a preliminary study was commissioned, followed by a detailed hydro-geological study. The preliminary study stated that no work on Velje Brdo should begin until detailed research was completed, that there were certain connections between Velje Brdo and the Mareza spring, and that the part of the hill planned for the settlement would be in the protected zones of that spring.
The profession is one thing, politicians are another.
However, although experts are asking that no construction be carried out on Velje Brdo until detailed hydro-geological research is completed, the results of which will be known in September next year, the Government has announced that construction of the boulevard will begin in the fall of this year, and construction of residential buildings in December.
The deadline for the design of the “A1” block and the construction of the first phase is a total of three years from the conclusion of the contract. It is planned to spend three and a half months on the development of the main design for the first phase, with an additional 15 days if additional documentation is required after the review. After the main design, the construction of the apartments and infrastructure for the first phase is planned to last two years and eight months.
The “A1” block project will also have to undergo an environmental impact assessment procedure, after the Environmental Protection Agency requested it in mid-May. However, although there are no studies or impact assessments yet, Minister of Spatial Planning Slaven Radunović announced in the Parliament in early June this year that the construction of the first residential buildings will begin in December and that a competition for users will be announced at that time to determine who will receive the apartments.
The deadline for appealing the selection of the consortium for the construction of residential buildings on Velje Brdo lasts for another seven days.
Two days ago, the Ministry also selected the bid of the company "Eurozox" for the construction of a boulevard on Velje Brdo.
When everything is summed up, the construction itself is a thousand euros more expensive than in Podgorica.
According to Monstat data for the first quarter of this year, the average price per square meter of an apartment in new and commercial construction was 2.395 euros.
Monstat states in its research that the cost of building an average apartment in Podgorica alone amounts to 1.890 euros, while the remaining part of this price is 296 euros for land and utility costs and 209 euros for costs for connections to utility infrastructure, fees, taxes, etc.
The cost of an apartment on Velje Brdo, which costs 2.808 euros, does not include land and utility costs, nor does it include most taxes, as the state is the investor. So, when everything is summed up, the cost of building apartments on this hill will be about a thousand euros higher than in Podgorica.
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