MERS: Incorrect allegations about the disposal of contaminated material from the Bijela Shipyard in the KAP zone

The information that contaminated material from the Bijela Shipyard will be stored in the Podgorica Aluminum Plant (KAP) zone is incorrect and does not reflect the valid planning and project documentation, said the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development (MERS), responding to an article by the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) published on the Vijesti portal on Sunday, June 7, under the title "Does the poison remain in KAP? The capital and EPA oppose the government's project for the remediation of hazardous waste in the Zeta Plain."

The department headed by Damjan Ćulafić said that in order to accurately and completely inform the public, they wanted to point out several facts that were not adequately presented in the text.

We transmit the rest of the response in full:

"First of all, the information that contaminated material from the Bijela Shipyard will be stored in that zone is incorrect and does not reflect the valid planning and project documentation.

The possibility of disposing of contaminated material from the Bijela Shipyard at a location within the KAP zone existed in earlier planning phases, but this option was subsequently excluded from the applicable planning documentation. Based on the conclusions of the Government of Montenegro from December 2025, the provision proposing the location within the KAP for the temporary disposal of this type of waste was deleted from the State Waste Management Plan for the period 2025–2029. All relevant partners, including the World Bank, as well as the public, were informed of the aforementioned changes in a timely manner.

Additionally, the draft Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Study does not envisage or consider the use of contaminated material from the Bijela Shipyard for the remediation of the unregulated landfill in the KAP area. Upon inspection of the document in question, it can be unequivocally determined that such a solution is not part of the project.

We would also like to correct the allegations regarding previously secured funds from the World Bank loan for the rehabilitation of the site in question. Contrary to the claims made in the text, the funds did not remain unused due to deficiencies in the project or technical documentation. The key reason why rehabilitation activities were not implemented under the previous loan was the unresolved property and legal status of the site, i.e. the fact that the site in question was privately owned, which represented an obstacle to the implementation of the planned investments.

Since the author of the text refers to the restructuring of the previous World Bank loan, it would be expected that official documents and explanations that clearly indicate the reasons why the funds were not used would have been consulted before publication. Likewise, a review of the draft Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Study, which is publicly available on the Ministry's web portal, would show that the use of contaminated material from the Bijela Shipyard for the remediation of the landfill in the KAP zone is not envisaged.

Also, in the section relating to the costs of preparing the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Study, we would like to note that this Ministry was not requested to provide this information prior to the publication of the text. If a request had been made, the relevant data would have been provided in a timely manner, in accordance with the principles of transparency and availability of information of public importance.

We believe that it is of particular importance that issues of public interest, especially those related to environmental protection and the implementation of internationally funded projects, are presented on the basis of verified facts and valid documentation. Only in this way can the public be objectively and fully informed about the activities carried out by the competent institutions and international partners.

The Ministry remains committed to transparent public information and will publish all relevant information regarding the remediation of environmental burdens and the improvement of the waste management system in Montenegro in a timely manner.

In this context, we inform the public that an updated Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Study will be published next week. The aforementioned document will be supplemented with new analyses conducted by CETI, as well as all comments received during the public consultation, along with responses to them," MERS stated.