The company Cijevna Commerce, of which he is the executive director Danilo Petrović, is obliged to pay the Agency for Construction and Development of Podgorica (the Agency) about 200 thousand euros, due to exceeding the deadline for the construction of the Podgorica City Theater building.
The building was supposed to be in operation at the end of 2018. All this can be seen from the contract that the Agency signed with this company in 2016, in which Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) had an insight.
In the contract signed by the then director of the Agency Srđan Raičević, it is stated that the value of the works is almost four million euros. The amount that Petrović's company had to pay to the Agency due to the delay could have been higher, if the contract did not state that the amount of the penalty due to the delay cannot exceed five percent of the contracted price of the works.
However, there is every chance that the capital will not soon see even these 200 thousand euros.
The construction of the City Theater building began in October 2016, and the deadline for completing the works was two years. Therefore, the completion of the works is almost six years late.
The Agency for CIN-CG explains that the main cause of the delay in the works is a bad project, which was presented to the capital city in 2014 by the construction company Ing Invest from Danilovgrad, whose executive director is Ilija Radulović. Because of this, as stated by this local company, in the legal sense, contractors can be protected.
In addition to this problem, the company Cijevna Commerce, founded in 2014, is blocked in the amount of over 17 million euros from 2020. This can be seen from the Business Network database. And since 2019, he is also on the black list of tax debtors.
Danilo Petrović, by the way, is known for having received numerous lucrative jobs during the thirty-year rule of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS).
CIN-CG contacted Petrović and the Cijevna Commerce company, but by the time this text was published, the answers had not arrived.
Srđan Raičević explained to CIN-CG that in 2015 the Agency announced two public invitations for the construction of a theater in Podgorica. No one responded to the first call, so a decision was made to suspend the proceedings. The second received five offers - from the consortium Condor company, Televex, Nova energija and Indel inženjering, a joint offer from the companies Toškovići and Simess inženjering with subcontractors, an offer from Unipred, the consortium Cijevna Commerce, Grijanje and Geonana and the company Bombeton. However, at the proposal of the Agency's Bid Opening and Evaluation Commission, a decision was made to suspend the public procurement procedure because no correct bid was submitted.
"We appreciated that none of the bidders, in addition to formal legal deficiencies, did not prove with their references that they have experience in performing very complex and demanding works in the construction sense, because the scope of works, among other things, required the performance of a large number of characteristic works such as: construction stage towers with a height of 20 meters, two stages for two halls with an auditorium on two levels, demanding steel structures and more," says Raičević.
Raičević believes that the Agency made a good judgment when it made the decision to reject all bids, since none of the bidders, not even Cijevna Commerce, had enough experience or references for this job.
Due to such decision of the Agency, appeals were filed by the consortium Cijevna Commerce and Toškovići and Simess inženjering.
"The State Commission for the Control of Public Procurement Procedures issued a decision in which it accepted the appeals and ordered the Agency to remove the irregularities in the new procedure and make a new decision. Thus, the Agency made a decision on the selection of the most favorable offer, namely the bidder Cijevna Commerce, based on the criteria prescribed by the then valid Law on Public Procurement - the lowest offered price for the works", says Raičević.
He confirms that, in addition to the contractor, the project was also bad.
"After the conclusion of the contract, we introduced the contractor to the work and right from the start we were faced with numerous shortcomings of the main project, which were eliminated in parallel with the execution of the works, which is why there was a delay. In the meantime, due to the obsolescence of the solutions from the original project, we have begun the development of a new project of stage equipment. All this was done according to the procedures of the Law on Public Procurement, which require a lot of time. As then, as now, I am of the opinion that, for the aforementioned reasons, neither Cijevna Commerce, nor the other bidders, were able to build the facility within the given deadlines", says Raičević.
Ing Invest has a history of bad business, and the company's license is in the process of being revoked
It is interesting that in 2015, Radulović's company Ing invest created a project for a complex and camp at Zlatica in Podgorica for the needs of the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SAJ) and the Special Police Unit (PJP), the construction of which was also delayed for several years due to numerous shortcomings in the project.
There was also a delay in the construction of the Podgorica Home for the Elderly, which, although it was supposed to be opened in 2020, was completed only at the end of 2022. The project for that institution was also developed by Ing Invest.
In the Opinion of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro (Ombudsman) from 2022, problems surrounding the construction of the House are also mentioned.
"Construction was delayed, apart from the COVID-19 virus pandemic, and because additional work had to be carried out due to problems with project documentation... Due to the fact that the work lasted longer than planned, adults with disabilities and the elderly were prevented from exercising their rights to services in accordance with the Law on Social and Child Protection", this opinion states.
As can be seen on the official website of Ing Invest, Radulović's company also worked on other significant projects of public interest - the Science and Technology Park, the Mental Health Clinic in Podgorica, the Clinic for Infectious Diseases and Dermatovenerology, as well as on large private projects such as which are the hotels Iberostar in Perast and Slavija in Budva, Lustica BayTownhouses, bungalows in the National Park (NP) Biogradska gora...
Company Ing Invest, even a few years after donating the project for the Podgorica theater, continued to be generous to the capital city. Thus, in 2018, she also donated the conceptual design of the Morača coast development project. This company was also open-handed towards the Clinical Center of Montenegro (KCCG), to which it donated an architectural conceptual solution at the end of 2022 for the needs of the extension and upgrading of the old building of the Institute of Oncology.
CIN-CG addressed the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property (MEPG) and asked if the competent inspection had ever reviewed the license of the responsible designer held by the company Ing Invest. MEPG replied that the procedure for revoking the license of this company is currently underway, and that the request for revoking was submitted by the law firm Čvorović, Minić and Radulović from Podgorica.
On this occasion, CIN-CG contacted Ilija Radulović and the company Ing Invest, but by the time this text was published, the answers had not arrived.
The mayor of Podgorica at the time when the project for the construction of the theater was presented to Podgorica was Miomir Mugoš and he then claimed that the capital will save around 240 thousand euros with this donation from Ing Invest.
Not only has no savings been made, but so far, due to the problematic project, according to insiders, much more has been spent than planned.
"From the start, everything was wrong with the City Theater building. The location - which entailed the demolition of the cult Kina Kultura, a bad main project - donated by a private design bureau, the execution of which cost much more than planned, and a disastrous contractor - who was years late with the reconstruction of the building of the Home of the Yugoslav People's Army - JNA (Music Center). and the Assembly of the Capital City. And to all that, add the uncollectible guarantee of Atlas Bank, which is now in bankruptcy. I warned about all these facts back in 2016 in the city assembly, but unfortunately - the then and later city authorities didn't even want to hear it," the deputy mayor of the capital city of Podgorica told CIN-CG. Luka Rakcevic.
He points out that the Agency for Construction and Development of Podgorica has already started patching numerous holes caused by the poor implementation of an even worse main project, as well as that tenders worth over half a million euros have been announced for the completion of the construction of the City Theatre.
"However, I believe that the possibility of terminating the inherited contract with the Cijevna Commerce company, which has shown by its past actions and numerous failures, that it is far from the required level, for a facility of such importance, should also be considered. It is in the city's interest that the theater building be opened as soon as possible. This implies a major relief of the building of the Budo Tomović Cultural and Information Center (KIC), which also expects a major reconstruction", says Rakčević.
Atlas Bank's guarantee is unusable
The contract for the construction of the City Theater also states that Cijevna Commerce is obliged to "deliver a guarantee for advance payment in the amount of the agreed advance". The guarantee that Petrović's company submitted was the guarantee of Atlas Bank Duško Knežević, which has been in bankruptcy since 2019, so now the Capital, i.e. the Agency, have additional problems to quickly collect what this company owes them.
At the end of May 2024, the Investment and Development Fund (IRF) initiated a dispute before the Commercial Court against Cijevna Commerce, in order to collect loans from the assets of this company that were not returned to the fund. The value of the dispute is around four million euros, and loans were also given to other companies owned by the Danil Petrović family - Cijevna Komerc and Montenegro Premier. Petrović is the owner and CEO of Cijevna Hotel Group, which is in bankruptcy.
In addition to being a big tax debtor, this businessman won state and municipal tenders for years, engaged in illegal gravel exploitation, and is also known for his close ties with the previous DPS regime.
It is interesting that the then Podgorica local authorities from the ranks of the DPS still decided to assign Petrović the job of building a theater, even though Cijevna Komerc was already known for being over 10 years late with the construction of the Music Center of Montenegro building and almost nine years with the construction of the Assembly of the Capital City.
The contract on the construction of the City Theater building in Podgorica, as CIN-CG was able to determine based on the documentation under the Law on Free Access to Information (FIA), was extended several times, and as many as seven annexes were signed - the last one in June 2021, when was the mayor of Podgorica Ivan Vukovic, also from the ranks of the DPS.
Not only was there no consideration of terminating the contract with the company that apparently did not respect the contractual obligations, but the Agency decided in June 2020 to act in accordance with the request of Petrović's company Cijevna Commerce to pay an advance in the amount of almost 200 thousand euros, in order to, as stated, mitigate the financial consequences of the coronavirus.
"Approved funds will be used for the purchase and installation of the necessary materials and equipment, namely: mechanical installations, plaster works, fire doors and elevators", it is stated in the fifth annex.
CIN-CG visited the works on the building of the City Theater and made sure that many things that were paid for were not installed. So, for example, there are no fire doors, which the Agency paid 42 thousand euros for four years ago.
It is yet to be determined whether the equipment worth millions is working
In the Main Project for the building of the theater in Podgorica, which CIN-CG received from the Agency, it was defined the construction of the building with a central hall with a capacity of 150 seats and a small hall with a capacity of 100 seats.
"Given that this is a public architecture object, it is very important that it be built according to the appropriate principles and standards for the technical, visual and functional needs of the theater and its users," it says in this project.
However, it is obvious that it was not done according to standards.
Most of the work on the City Theater building is finished, but as CIN-CG found out on the ground, the leaky roof will have to be worked on again, and the canopy, which was forgotten in the original project, will also be built. Due to the poorly constructed roof, many rooms in the City Theater, for example one wall on the big stage, as well as numerous offices, buffets, corridors, were damaged by moisture, so it will have to be repaired. Even on the small stage, water almost collected. Interestingly, the Music Center of Montenegro, which, as we said, was also run by Petrović, had a similar problem with the roof and leakage.
The workers we found on the ground, who were hired by the Agency, also explained that there is a plan to change the appearance of the hall at the entrance to the theater, which, according to the experts they consulted, was poorly designed and executed.
There are also finishing works - plastering, laying of floors, tiles, sanitation... All this will require more money and time.
According to what can be seen on the field, despite numerous problems, the theater is still equipped with some new systems that did not exist in Montenegro until now, such as elevators on the stage itself, special sound and lighting...
However, the question is whether all this modern and very expensive equipment, which is worth millions, will be in operation, because it was acquired a long time ago and is not used, and it is a very sensitive technique that, if not maintained, can fail. The Agency says that only at the end of this July will the conditions be met to test the technique and then they will know exactly what works.
No one asked those who were going to use the theater
Former general director of the City Theater in Podgorica Stevan Koprivica, who held that position from 2019 to April 2024, tells CIN-CG that during his mandate there was a commission consisting of the technical and artistic director of the City Theater and the technical director of the Montenegrin National Theater (CNP), which was supposed to give suggestions and remarks regarding the construction of the theater. However, he says, they did not have the opportunity to decide.
"The commission could only give suggestions and remarks on the stages of work, and there were plenty of them, as evidenced by extensive documentation," Koprivica says and notes that they had good cooperation with the Agency for Construction and Development of Podgorica.
He claims, however, that there were problems between the contractors, namely the company Cijevna Commerce and Agencies.
"The performer very rarely listened to the opinions of the theater committee. The theater had no authority in making decisions, nor does it now, as far as I know. The list of expert remarks of the theater commission is one thick folder, which in the past time remained only on paper", says Koprivica.
The City Theater of Podgorica currently functions within the KIC. Since its existence, 73 years, this theater has never had its own premises, but has constantly moved.
The foundation stone was laid for the first time near the old building of the Government of Montenegro, back in December 2000, but that location was quickly abandoned. The office buildings of the Personnel Administration were later located there.
At one time, it was considered that the Podgorica theater would be located in the building where the CNP is now located. In the end, however, the then authorities decided to demolish the cult Kino Kulture building in 2011, so a new foundation stone for the theater was laid on the site of the former Podgorica cinema. Numerous experts and citizens opposed the demolition of the old cinema, which was one of the rare symbols of former times, since most of the cultural monuments disappeared during the bombing of Podgorica at the end of the Second World War.
Current acting director of the City Theatre Ivona Čović Jaćimović for CIN-CG, he points out that only when KIC does not have its own program, i.e. when there are free dates, they can perform performances.
"It prevents us from having professional working conditions. Rehearsals are mainly held in the wedding hall, which is also our only alternative space. However, plays cannot be technically conceived in it", says Čović Jaćimović.
The Agency for Construction and Development of Podgorica states that it is realistic to expect the completion of works on the City Theater by the end of 2024.
What is in the interest of the Capital City to entrust the construction of the Podgorica City Theater to Danilo Petrović, as well as to rely on the projects of companies that have bad results, remains to be determined. Until then, these privileged businessmen will continue to get away with impunity.
History of Petrović's business: He owes Montenegro more than 30 million euros
Danilo Petrović is known to the public as a privileged businessman close to the former government, which consisted of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). His companies have been awarded jobs in the best locations across the country for years.
Petrović's companies carried out works in Porto Montenegro, the Ljubović district, Atlas capital, the City Library in Podgorica, the Premier and Riviera hotels, the Milenijum bridge, on Plantaže 13. Juli, the Administrative Building of JP Vodovod and Sewerage in Podgorica, the southern stand of the City Stadium in Podgorica, Villa Kumbor,…
Petrović was arrested in 2021 on suspicion of illegally exploiting gravel from the Morača and Cijevna riverbeds and illegally occupying state land. In the same year, the Municipality of Budva initiated two lawsuits against Petrović's company Cijevna Komerc, due to the property that Petrović took from that city to build the building of the Academy of Knowledge, which, due to numerous defects, has been without a use permit for years.
According to data from the Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG) from 2023, Cijevna Komerc was sixth on the list of the largest debtors in Montenegro whose accounts are blocked. That company owes the state more than 15 million euros. Besides her, two other Petrović companies are also big debtors - Cijevna Hotel Group, over 10 million, and Cijevna Commerce, over eight million euros.
The names of Danilo Petrović and his son, Vasilij Petrović, also appeared in the SKAJ correspondence of Miloš Medenica, the son of the former president of the Supreme Court, Vesna Medenica, who, like his mother, was arrested in 2022, on suspicion of having committed several criminal acts, such as creating criminal organizations, smuggling, giving and receiving bribes, illegal influence, drug trafficking, abuse of official position...
The younger Petrović was also arrested, on suspicion of being a member of the criminal group formed by Medenica.
Vesna Medenica, who ruled the Montenegrin judiciary for years, is suspected, among other things, of exerting illegal influence on judges who made decisions in various court processes, including in some of those conducted against Cijevna Commerce.
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