The current administration of the Capital City did not take on time the actions within its jurisdiction related to the development of the access road construction project that will be the connection with the Bar-Boljari highway, did not expropriate the land on that route and did not call for a tender for the realization of that project within the required time frame. , as a result of which the release of a part of the highway will be significantly delayed in the stipulated period, pointed out the candidate for councilor of the coalition "Podgorica for the 21st century!" Vidoje Petričić.
"Construction of the so-called connection road is not an easy task because an overpass must be built at the intersection with the railway line, as well as a bridge over the Morača River, several hundred meters long. In this way, the cost of the highway from Podgorica to Mateševo will not cost us 810 million euros, but will significantly exceed the amount of one billion euros," said Petričić.
He states that the loss that we will have every day starting on May 11, 2019, if the first section of the highway is not put into operation by that date, is particularly problematic.
"We can best see the amount we are talking about if we compare the monthly income we have from toll collection on the Sozina tunnel. The company Monteput, which manages the Sozina tunnel, for the first seven months of last year earned 5,76 million euros from toll collection. That they will the income from toll collection on this section of the highway will be more than tens of millions of euros annually, according to the Feasibility Study, which was done for the needs of the Government of Montenegro in 2015. That huge monetary income could be a significant financial injection to fill holes in the budget of Montenegro , that is, it could be invested in the much-needed improvement of the road infrastructure", claims Petričić.
He also points out that the former Minister of Transport and Maritime Affairs, during whose mandate the contract on the construction of this section of the highway was prepared and signed, Ivan Brajović, said that the contractor will pay penalties if the construction deadline is exceeded.
"As the Government said at the time, "the value of the contracted penalties reaches up to five percent of the total value of the project". In other words, it is the amount of 40 million euros that they could receive from the Chinese if the construction deadlines are missed. From that side, it would be said , we can be calm, but knowing the way our officials work and we have to accept that with a certain reserve. However, what worries us and what we emphasize today is the delay in the design and construction of the necessary roads that do not depend on the Chinese but on our ministry and the administration of the Capital City ", emphasizes Petričić.
He adds that the current government in the capital has not done anything about this issue so far and that we will suffer the consequences due to their incompetence.
"The Smokovac loop is planned as a connection between the two highways Bar-Boljara and Adriatic-Ionian, but also as a connection between the highway and the main road Podgorica - Kolašin. As recently announced by the current Minister of Transport and Maritime Affairs, Osman Nurković, instead of the loop, a connection will be built that connects the mentioned section with the M2 highway," recalls Petričić.
Petričić concludes that it is still questionable whether the Capital City and competent state institutions will wait for the Chinese to do their part, and only then start with the project that is under their authority.
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