The state plans to buy or rent space for student accommodation by September of this year, in order to temporarily solve the problem of overbooking of student dormitories.
This is written in the Information on the provision of additional accommodation capacities of student dormitories in Podgorica, with the conclusions of the Interdepartmental Working Group, which has been considering the problem of missing capacities since February this year.
In addition to the temporary solution, which includes the purchase or rental of space, the authorities also propose amending the legal acts that regulate the area of housing allocation, so that, in conditions of high rents for renting apartments, as many students as possible can apply for housing.
There are five student dormitories in the capital, and the authorities concluded that the number of students who cannot meet the right to accommodation in them is growing.
According to data, the Phase 1 facility was built in 1974 and has 348 places, while Phase 2, also in the Kruševac settlement, which began operating four years later, has 516 places. Plavi dvor, completed in 1997 in Svetozara Markovića Street, has 125 seats, plus 120 seats in the old building.
The new student dormitory, which was also the last one built almost a decade ago, has a capacity of 400 places.
In the document that was considered by the Government in February, it was stated that student dormitories in Podgorica have long since become cramped, that in this academic year 2.223 students applied for 1.509 places, which means that 714 university students were left without this type of accommodation.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MPNI) then proposed several models to the Government.
"In cooperation with the University of Montenegro, the Ministry of Education has agreed on a potential transfer of land... On the plot in question, a building with a total area of... 6.700 square meters could be built. With the construction of the object in question, the needs of 300 to 350 students would be met...", according to the Ministry of Education.
That model, they estimate, requires time, so the start of construction of the facility "could be expected in the second half of 2025 in an optimistic scenario."
"The private-public partnership model carries certain risks, primarily because there is not too much previous practice in these procedures. The third model for urgent problem solving is the potential possibility of renting or buying space that could be used for these purposes. The model in question is probably the most effective, but it carries a risk - the absence of a market offer", they concluded and proposed to the Government to form an interdepartmental commission that would come up with the best solution.
714 students were left without accommodation in dormitories this academic year, according to information from MPNI
In the new information from the Government, it is written that the interdepartmental commission concluded that there are no formal legal and property legal obstacles and that the implementation of the steps for the construction of a new student dormitory in Podgorica should be started, through the preparation and implementation of the Competition for the conceptual architectural solution.
"As it is a multi-million dollar investment, which will only be tentatively known after the implementation of the competition, the proposal of the working group is to decide on the very model of construction and financing only after the implementation of the competition, for the reason that it is assumed that apart from the classic model of financing the project, through capital budget, during the realization of this project, the interest of the private sector can also be expected, which opens up the possibility of realizing it through a private-public partnership model," the information reads.
Since the construction of a new student dormitory will not provide sufficient capacity to accommodate all students, and since it is a process that will last up to three years, the Government Commission also considered an alternative model for the temporary solution of this issue, which would make it possible to increase the number of students who can exercise this right already in the upcoming school year.
"As the fastest solution, the lease or purchase of space, which would be put into the function of a student dormitory, by September of the current year, but also the consideration of legal acts that regulate the area of housing allocation, so that, in the conditions of high rents for renting apartments, as much as possible enabled a number of students to apply for housing", concluded the Commission.
In the information, it is written that for this purpose a public call should be published, which would contribute to transparency and increase the number of companies that could be included in this model by ceding their facilities, given that the procedures for the procurement of rental services or the purchase of space are exempted from the Law on Public procurements.
"As the question is of particular importance, especially bearing in mind that there is a possibility that, in addition to companies that deal with renting out accommodation, companies from the field of housing construction may also be interested in ceding their capacities for the needs of student accommodation, either through the purchase or lease model space, the proposal of the working group is to publish a public call, which would contribute to transparency, but also increase the number of potential companies that could be included in this model by giving up their facilities...".
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