Into a new season with old septic tanks

The new urban district that has sprung up in Ulcinjsko polje near Port Milena and which already has thousands of accommodation units in modern residential areas, apartments and hotels categorized mostly with 4 stars, does not yet have the necessary communal and other infrastructure. Although the investors previously paid about six million euros in fees for communal equipment, they are still forced to build access roads and even septic tanks themselves, because they do not have a connection to the sewage network.

Director of the family hotel "Olea" (4*) Jovica Franeta he said that since the start of the investment, he and his colleagues have been facing difficulties that they have to solve themselves.

"We couldn't even finish the big investment we had in the hotel due to infrastructural problems. However, we managed to open the hotel in mid-July. The guests were very satisfied with our services, but the main objections and complaints related to the infrastructure - unpaved access roads without sidewalks and lighting. We emphasize the special problem of the sewage network because we cannot imagine another season with septic tanks", Franeta said.

"Vijesti" has learned that the connection of buildings, including those in Ulcinjsko polje, to the sewer network according to the project for the collection and removal of sewage and storm water for the settlements of Donja Bratica, Bjela Gora, Totoši and Kodre, the implementation of which is in progress, will be delayed and that it can only happen after the season at the earliest. The Secretariat for Investments told "Vijesti" that the reason for this was that during the implementation of the project there were frequent delays due to the problem of the lack of cadastre of underground installations, so that the completion of the primary phase works is expected only around mid-June.

Franeta said that they have good cooperation with the new municipal administration and visible progress compared to the situation, but that it is still not enough.

"The management has admitted that it has prioritized all of this. As is the new boulevard from Okovo to Velika... But we appreciate that this initiative should also go towards the Government, because it could be part of the environmental rehabilitation of the complete Port Milena canal", Franeta assessed.

He reminded that the Ulcinj field is completely covered by the plan and that therefore an urgent reaction of the municipal and state structures is necessary in order to prevent new environmental problems.

"Extreme construction in all parts of the city was not accompanied by infrastructural equipment or planning coverage. So many settlements resemble Bangladesh. Ecological black spots have not even begun to be rehabilitated, such as the Port Milena canal, around which settlements have sprung up and new ones are in sight. It is also a national problem due to the location and biodiversity on the strip between Velika plaža and Solana", Franeta said.

He reminded that the plan in Ulcinjsko polje overlooked boulevards and roads with sidewalks and lighting, a school, a kindergarten, a health center...

"Hundreds of buildings have been built and soon we will probably have tens of thousands of people in the neighborhood, especially during the season, who we will welcome without roads and with septic tanks. Quite enough reason to turn on the red light in both Ulcinj and Podgorica", Franeta said.

The project for the collection and removal of atmospheric and sewage water, as pointed out by the Secretariat for Investments, envisages that the collection of sewage water for four settlements, through a temporarily built pumping station, will be connected to the existing collector - facility on Cape Đerana and transferred to the sea at a distance of approx. 1,25 kilometers.

"It is a solution that will last until the construction of the wastewater treatment plant. At the moment, maximum efforts are being made to determine the location for construction", the Secretariat states.

They add that the implementation of that project in the mentioned settlements, which includes Ulcinjsko polje, will greatly improve the situation. "Namely, the project is currently working on the primary network of the sewage network. It is also necessary to create a secondary network, and at that stage the building owners will be connected. Therefore, after the completion of this project, other infrastructure will be regulated and built - roads and public lighting", the Secretariat for Investments announced.

Soon tenders for boulevards and roads

When it comes to Ulcinjsko polje, the Municipality is in the phase of drafting project documentation for the construction of the access road Nova 32 Teuta Boulevard, for the arrangement of the space on the right side of Teuta Boulevard, for the central road Nova 5 with Nova 41 from the roundabout at the Communal Enterprise to the roundabout in near the salt pan and the roundabout near "Europa", according to the planning documentation.

"After drafting the project documentation, the publication of the tender documentation for the selection of the most favorable offers for the implementation of the projects will begin. The municipality of Ulcinj is maximally engaged in mitigating the existing problems to the maximum extent possible", they state in the Secretariat for Investments.