The multi-million project of the Public Company for Coastal Zone Management (JP) for the ground-level development of the Velika Skela under Ulcinj's Old Town has been shelved until further notice, while the local government in the southernmost municipality is now prioritizing making the location suitable for unhindered parking and car traffic by the season.
President of the Municipality of Ulcinj Genc Nimanbeg He said that the public company, after terminating the contract with the contractor several months ago, is now obliged to complete the paving of the pier by the season and enable the unhindered passage of passengers and cars.
"After the summer, as part of the second phase, we will insist on building a protective wall against the impact of waves," Nimanbegu told "Vijesti".
Thus, the pompously announced JP project, which has been surrounded by controversy since the beginning, and in whose implementation nearly a million euros have allegedly been invested so far, was infamously removed from the agenda and priorities.
Until last night, the Public Enterprise did not respond to "Vijesti"'s questions about whether the Public Enterprise had terminated the contract with the main contractor for the ground-level renovation of the Velika Skela in Ulcinj and why, and whether the Public Enterprise had currently given up on the implementation of the million-euro project. They were also asked whether the Public Enterprise, if it had given up on that project, even temporarily, would redirect the planned funds to the implementation of some other projects in the coastal zone in Ulcinj.
"Vijesti" announced in August last year that the Public Company is waiting for urban planning and technical conditions (UTU) from the Municipality of Ulcinj, and amendments to the State Location Study (DSL) for sector 63 from the relevant ministry, in order to fully complete the work on the ground floor of the Velika Skela.
A little over half a year earlier, the public company announced that the first phase of the project, which cost more than 800 thousand euros, had been completed and that the works had entered the final phase, although the outlines of a modern and attractive space were not visible on the ground, as it looked in the winning conceptual design in the tender.
Meanwhile, the then Minister of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property Janko Odović is, in response to questions from members of parliament Mehmed Zenka (DUA) - said that, according to the reports he received from the appraiser, the works were not worth more than 270-300 thousand euros and promised to investigate the entire procedure. As then, so now...
Work on the ground floor arrangement of the Great Scaffold began in October 2022, and the deadline for the realization of the project was 120 days. After that, the Municipality announced that the project would be completed by the beginning of last season, but that deadline was also missed.
The contractor was the company DOO “Erlang”, and the investment for the first phase exceeded 800 thousand euros. With the second phase, the total investment amounted to almost one million euros.
"The first phase of works on the ground floor arrangement of the Velika Skela has been completed. The second phase of paving is underway, after which it is planned through the Plan for the Use of Financial Resources for 2024 to rehabilitate the foundations of the Velika Skela after obtaining urban and technical conditions and preparing technical documentation. The protection of the Velika Skela from wave impacts will be implemented by constructing an underwater pier. The prerequisite for the implementation of this investment is the completion of the amendments to the DSL sector 63, after which the technical documentation will be prepared, and thus this investment will be implemented," the PE replied in February last year to the question of what stage the works on the ground floor arrangement of the Velika Skela are in and how the PE plans to protect that area from the impact of large waves. They did not answer the question at that time regarding when the implementation of this million-dollar and very significant project can be expected.
The planned purpose of this area, which covers a total of 4.600 square meters, was a square-pier with a green belt along the rocks at the foot of the Old Town. Along the rocks below the Old Town, it was planned to form a green belt, a zone with low indigenous vegetation that does not require too much care, and several pine and olive trees that provide shade and enrich the ambiance.
During the development of the main project, ecological materials were used. The final finishing of the waterfront was planned to be made of stamped concrete and stone.
In the meantime, the Erlang company has confirmed to "News" that already at the very beginning of the works, significant discrepancies between the actual situation on the ground and the prepared project were noted, in the part of the concrete surface of the promenade.
With the implementation of the project, it was planned that Ulcinj would gain a border crossing at sea for the first time.
Nimanbegu said that a temporary border crossing on a ferry operated last year.
"We will make sure that this happens this year as well. We will soon submit an initiative to the relevant ministry," said Nimanbegu.
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