The deadline for the completion of the cross-border project "ALMONIT MTC", within which the Port of Virpazar is to be built, expires on December 31 this year, and what will happen to the 2,5 million euros that went to the state of Montenegro, because the construction of this port has not started and whether the state will lose that money, are questions that the Ministry of Capital Investments (MKI) will not answer to "Vijesti" for a month.
The "ALMONIT MTC" project is implemented by Montenegro, Albania and Italy and its main goal is to improve connectivity between the countries of the region through the development of multimodal transport and the establishment of inland waterways and maritime lines. Within the project, 2,5 million euros were approved for the construction of the Port of Virpazar (Phase I), while the Government provided an additional 1,5 million. The cross-border project started in May 2019 and is scheduled to be completed in December this year, while the planned deadline for the construction of the port is eight months from the introduction of the contractor to the work.
In January, the government of Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić adopted information on the construction of the first phase of the port of Virpazar with accompanying facilities, in which it was emphasized that non-fulfillment of obligations by any partner in the project would entail certain consequences.
"Any prolongation calls into question the timely implementation of this project, which can have a negative impact in multiple ways. Apart from the fact that the Government would have the obligation to return all the funds spent so far, it would also find itself in a situation where it has to compensate the losses of all project partners who would finance the implementation of further activities from their own money. Ultimately, this situation would lead to a loss of credibility when applying for new projects," the document says.
The Minister of Capital Investments, Ervin Ibrahimović, recently said at one of the Government sessions that it is very important for Montenegro to have the Port of Virpazar, and that it is necessary to adopt a spatial plan in order to use the approved money for the continuation of the project.
The former administration of the MKI, while it was managed by Mladen Bojanić, announced a tender for the construction of the port at the end of November last year, only to cancel it in March of this year, because, as the ministry previously explained, neither of the two bids through a public call was financially profitable. per country. A company from Montenegro and a consortium of companies from Italy and Albania applied for the tender.
At that time, MKI emphasized that the project was not abandoned, and that, if a new tender procedure for that project is launched, a new contract notice will be published.
Eight months have passed since then, and the Ministry of Interior, headed by Ibrahimović, did not respond to the questions of "Vijesti" whether the ministry will launch a new tender procedure for the project and publish a new notification about the contract, and if so, when and under what conditions.
The main project of the Port of Virpazar consists of four parts: the structure of the port, retaining walls and landscaping, a steel bridge for installations and an architectural facility (tourist and technical facility).
Disputed impact on the environment of Lake Skadar
At the beginning of the year, Bojanić's department indicated the urgency of resolving the disputed issues.
Namely, by considering the remarks of the commission that dealt with environmental impact assessment, it was determined that the items related to the protection zone of the location that is planned for the construction of the Port of Virpazar make it impossible to realize the project within the stipulated time.
Therefore, at the end of December last year, the Ministry of Ecology requested a statement from the Ministry of Ecology regarding the protection zone of the part of the NP "Skadarsko jezero" planned for the construction of the port, and for months there was no answer, which prevented the Ministry of Ecology from continuing the implementation of the projects for which the Government approved in July last year the missing 1,5 million.
The Ministry of Ecology, while it was headed by Ratko Mitrović, previously told "Vijesta" that they submitted a statement in which the site in question is located, but from which it is not clear whether the construction of Port Virpazar can begin.
"Vijesti" then asked Bojanić's MKI whether the statement of the Ministry of Ecology means that construction can begin, the answer was that the construction of the Port of Virpazar can only begin after obtaining a construction permit and signing a contract with the selected contractor.
Minister Ibrahimović's department does not even answer the question of whether they had additional communication with the Ministry of Ecology regarding the protection zone.
Environmentalists have previously criticized the project, pointing out that the Environmental Impact Assessment Elaborate has almost eighty objections and cannot get the green light until they are removed. They also called on the Delegation of the EC in Montenegro to suspend its construction because it will endanger nature and violate the recommendations of international conventions (Bern and Ramsar at least) and European directives on nature protection.
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