The delay in the implementation of the sewerage network construction project for four Ulcinj settlements, which according to the contract should have been completed three years ago, is not surprising news for the people of Ulcinj because in the last decade and more, almost all major investments in the southernmost municipality have not been completed on time, some they haven't even started and some have been sloppily and incompletely brought to an end.
For this reason, the locals are not surprised that the current works have left one of the most frequented city streets, which connects the city center with Veliko Plaža and Ada via Teuta Boulevard, demolished for several months, which is why the usual picture of traffic jams on the roundabout near the Municipality building crowds and chaos.
Former president of the municipality of Ulcinj Ljoro Nrekic and the administrator of the Italian company "Spiga SRP" from Udine, Mario Scarsini in September 2019, they signed a contract on the construction of a sewage network for four settlements in the municipality of Ulcinj worth 4,5 million euros. All these settlements gravitate to the Bratica stream, which is a waste water collector and one of the biggest polluters of the Port Milena canal.
The main goal of the project is to improve water quality in the area. The total length of the planned sewage network will be 14,45 km. The signed works contract will include the construction of fecal and storm sewers, and the deadline for the completion of the works was set at one year. The tender committee also entrusted the supervision of the works to an Italian company, which already operates in Montenegro - Giuseppe inženjering.
V. d. Secretary for Investments in the Municipality of Ulcinj Minir Karamanaga he said that the delay in the implementation of the project was generally caused by the corona, but also by the lack of an underground cadastre. He also said that the Municipality is powerless to influence the dynamics of the works because both the contractor and the supervisor are from another country. He believes that the delay in the asphalting of Mother Teresa Street is related to the stoppage in the money transaction in the circle between the European Bank as a creditor, the Government as a guarantor and the Municipality
Long-time councilor of the SDP in Ulcinj SO Skender Elezagić he assessed that it is clear to the layman that the level of contractors and supervision is not at the level required by such a project, and that this raises the general question of the functionality of the buildings being built.
"Investments in infrastructure require investments of significant material resources, which are not easy to provide. But what about leaders who are not able to spend the funds that someone else has provided? It took Ulcinj several years just to make the decision that it wanted to use funds totaling around 5+20 million euros, favorable loans from the EBRD and KwF Bank, which were guaranteed by the Government of Montenegro. And after 2015, when that decision was finally made, it took another 5 years for the first project, worth 5 million euros - a sewage network for four settlements to finally start," said Elezagić to "Vijesta".
He stated that it is a special story how the work on that project is going, which is being implemented for the third year, although according to the contract it was supposed to be completed in a year.
One of the leading architects from Ulcinj Valon Buzuku he said that the crux of the problem should be found in the Law on Public Procurement, where the contracting authority, specifically the Government or the Municipality, decides on the outcome of the tender based on the lowest offered price, which has the most influence during scoring.
"Companies give a minimum price and then try to manage in various ways by saving manpower or materials, to finish the job with as little money as possible. This leads to other problems related to the quality of the works, not to mention constantly breaking deadlines or inventing various subsequent works in order to compensate for the contracted low price", said Buzuku for "Vijesti".
He said that bad contractors also often complain about the project documentation on the basis of which the works are carried out, "so they often invent defects in the project in order to buy time and shift the blame to the client, where in the end the city and the citizens suffer".
"Just take for example the reconstruction of the sewage network in Ulica Majke Tereza and around Komunalno, as well as the part of the highway at the entrance to the city from the direction of Bar. My engineering mind cannot understand that a street, or various holes in the streets of the city, can remain unpaved even a year after creating the conditions for asphalting. No one knows how many cars died because of that. Local officials must pay more attention to such phenomena, because it is the face of the city and therefore also the face of themselves who run this city. And the tourist season is just around the corner", said Buzuku.
He assessed that "this is where the irresponsibility of the local authorities comes into play, which must be more serious about the supervision and control of the performed works, as well as the prevention of deadlines being missed."
"Nevertheless, it is unacceptable that there are no workers at all on a dug-up street for days, or there are very few, two or three at a time. It is incomprehensible to me, as an architect who is constantly involved in construction work, that this can happen, but with the precondition that the contractor is paid the costs of the execution, in accordance with the contracts and recognized situations", said Buzuku.
The people of Ulcinj remember that the work on the construction of the new bridge at Port Milena, an investment worth around 14 million euros, was also delayed. The bridge was designed to have a switch mechanism, but it remained unknown if it was installed and if not where, since the investment grew due to its value. By the way, the public has not yet had the opportunity to see how the bridge opens space for yachts and sailing ships. Also, the people of Ulcinj are still waiting for the new hotels "Galeb" and "Lido", the construction of which has not yet started, although the previous strategic government investors announced that they would open the gates for tourists 15 years ago. The big investment of JP Morsko dobro, the port of Kacema, is not functional during a major storm, even though it was built to keep fishing boats safe even in those extreme conditions - fishermen are forced to pull their boats out onto dry land. The functionality of the ground floor arrangement of the Great Scaffold is also questionable, since it blues every time there is a strong "south". Six years ago, HTP Ulcinj Riviera announced that the German agency TUI was interested in a multi-decade lease of the nudist resort on Ada and the "Belvi" hotel on Velika plaža, which operate as part of that hotelier. The settlement is still part of Riviera today, while Belvi was leased to another company...
Elezagić said that it seems somewhat incredible, but the fact is that decades ago, the people who managed Ulcinj were not aware of the importance of infrastructure development, as a basic condition for planning any development.
"Investments in infrastructure represented a significant segment of all plans, projects, strategies, but everything ended on those papers. Our managers did not understand that this was not enough and they did not have enough knowledge and strength to actually build even a part of what was planned. So today we have a situation that since the construction of the road for Pinješ-Kosovske streets, not a single new road has been built in Ulcinj that would relieve traffic and facilitate access to new settlements that were gradually, and in some places, rapidly expanding, Elezagić stated. He reminded that the majority of the water supply network is several decades old and is in such a state that the researches of the German "Dahlem" even 13-14 years ago showed that network losses amount to over 80%.
"To determine the state of the sewage network, no research is needed. In summer, it is enough to go along the road past the former "Drvoimpex", then along the boulevard to Velika plaža and stop at the old bridge over Port Milena. Even two submarine outlets, built about 40 years ago, are not in operation. Is it realistic to talk, dream or hope for serious investments in tourism in Ulcinj in these conditions", asked Elezagić.
He assessed that the completely different approach and attitude of the new, current local administration is encouraging and instills a little hope.
"These days, work is also starting on another, much more complex and demanding project - the rehabilitation of the water supply and sewerage network - worth 20 million euros, which is financed by a loan from the German KwF bank. The serious and extremely professional approach of the contractor selected in the tender, the supervision, the resident engineer, Vodakom as the project manager, the Municipality as the investor, which instills hope at the beginning that this project can be successfully completed", he assessed, stating that this optimism should be taken with reserve.
"Because the delay in the beginning of implementation led to the fact that the approved loan amount is no longer sufficient for the implementation of all the measures envisaged by the project due to the obligation to calculate the sliding scale due to inflationary trends. It is necessary to provide additional funds for its complete completion. Likewise, it should be borne in mind that even the successful implementation of these two projects does not solve the problem of wastewater in Ulcinj. For that, it is necessary to build a wastewater treatment plant. The new local administration has initiated intensive activities on the preparation of project documentation and there are real chances to secure a grant for this investment worth several tens of millions of euros," said Elezagić.
Elezagić: The lack of infrastructure is a limiting factor in development
Elezagić assessed that despite encouraging positive developments, the situation on the ground in many zones indicates that the lack of infrastructure not only complicates and reduces the quality of life of the citizens of Ulcinj, but is increasingly becoming a limiting factor for development.
"It is incomprehensible, for example, that these listed projects do not include infrastructure in a new, urbanized zone, the Ulcinjsko polje area. For that zone, in which we have hundreds of buildings, not only for housing, but also serious hotel buildings, which have paid significant amounts for the compensation for the communal equipment of the land, there is no sign that anyone thinks that the Municipality should fulfill the obligations it has according to investors and equip the zone with communal infrastructure", said Elezagić. He reminded that although the main sewage pipe for four settlements passes through the middle of Ulcinjsko polje, it is not planned to build a secondary network and connect that settlement to that pipe.
"It is a big environmental and health risk, because it is not difficult to imagine what would happen to the septic tanks of those buildings, in the event of a serious rain during the summer. Not to mention the need to build and asphalt roads, sidewalks, public lighting and more," he said.
Buzuku: A rotten administration is holding back investments
When it comes to investments, Buzuku assessed that there is another side of the coin - when the Government or local administrations block various investments for no reason, despite perhaps good will, "due to a rotten and incompetent or disinterested administration". As an example, he mentioned the promenade project that should be built through the Pine Forest, from the Hotel "Albatross" to the pier on the Big Beach. That project, which Morsko dobro is responsible for, as he stated, has been in the process for five years.
"Every year, JP includes a project in its investment budget worth about 150.000 euros. "Two projects were done and none of them passed the audit due to deficiencies in terms of not satisfying the conditions for persons with reduced mobility," he said. He added that the audit also required that the cadastral plot that includes the track project be separated and subdivided into a separate cadastral plot.
"The municipality initiated procedures with authorized surveyors, but since the mentioned cadastral parcel is owned by the state, it needs the approval of the Government. We have been waiting for that approval for more than half a year. So there is nothing from the project this year, apparently. But be careful, here we are only talking about completing the project documentation, which has been going on for 6 years. So how realistic is it to wait, if we take into account the tender procedures for selecting the contractor and the execution itself - 10 or 15 years", asked Buzuku. He assessed that it is a classic example of irresponsible behavior of local and state officials towards the community and the money that all citizens pay into their budgets.
"As long as the government's attitude towards the general social good does not change, these and similar topics will continue to be relevant," said Buzuku.
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