The Ministry of Spatial Planning and Urbanism to remove from the Spatial Plan of Montenegro the point that envisages the location of the LNG terminal and thermal power plant "in or near the Port of Bar". It is necessary to carry out a detailed study of the location of the highway route Podgorica-Bar in order to prevent the usurpation of Crmnik villages.
These are the conclusions of today's session of the Municipal Assembly (SO) of Bar, where proposals for amending the draft of the Spatial Plan were discussed, which the Municipality of Bar will send to the competent ministry until the end of the public hearing on that document.
Suzana Crnovršanin, advisor to the President of the Municipality of Bar, presented proposals for the amendment of the Spatial Plan of Montenegro (PPCG), which will be signed by President Dušan Raičević on behalf of the local administration.
"In particular, you should take into account valid documentation, seismic and geological characteristics of this area, as well as monuments and nature parks, active zones of exploitation of mineral raw materials, the main road to the railway line located in this zone, which, in combination with the purpose for the construction area of the settlement, can create numerous conflict situations in the space", she said.
The document she presented calls for additional analysis and guidelines for correcting the borders of special purpose zones in the area of Morski dobr and Lake Skadar, the protected nature area of Katič, detailed elaboration of the Maljevik location...
"The capacities of the Port of Bar should be optimized by planning appropriate terminals, and special attention should be paid to the guidelines for the planning, development and valorization of the free zone and the Port of Bar," Crnovrsanin said.
Ferida Peročević from URA and Momčilo Leković from Demokrat, asked the president of the SO, Branislav Nenezić, why this session was convened under an urgent procedure and why these proposals are being voted on when they are the responsibility of municipal services.
Opposition councilors criticized the way the session was scheduled and held, as well as the fact that they received the necessary material for the session half an hour after the start, and the president of the SO, Branislav Nenezić, added that this was provided for in the rules of procedure.
He replied that this is one of the most important topics for the city, and although the Municipal Assembly is not the body that sends this document, it is important that they discuss it.
Radomir Novaković Cakan, from the Biram Bar party, told Nenezić, Leković, and other MPs in the Parliament of Montenegro to "raise this topic, which is being discussed, there" and not to bring disagreements from the state parliament to the SO.
He questioned whether this session was really urgent and wondered why there were no municipal officials and secretaries in the hall if the reason for the session was alarming. Nenezić replied that he was more concerned that all 37 councilors elected by Barani were not in the hall.
Milena Božović from the same party pointed out that they have an obligation to protect the space, because there is not enough of it.
"We should have received parliamentary material, at least a draft of objections to the Spatial Plan. Planners, that is, people from the profession, should have been invited to this session, so that they could help us from their professional aspect and give us answers to the question. The profession must and should ask questions, not politics. "If I ignore the waistline, we and the generations after us are in trouble," said Božović.
Andrea Marstjepović from DPS said that PPCG is one of the most important documents for the state. She pointed out that the public debate on this document in the Bar was one of the most transparent.
"It is difficult to harmonize a document like this so that everyone is satisfied. However, we all have to think about strategic priorities and the need for the city to develop, and our obligation as representatives of the citizens is to support those solutions regardless of which side we are on," she said.
And DPS advocated the LNG terminal
DPS member Nikica Purlija told the opposition that they do not have the courage to oppose the LNG terminal because they would suffer political consequences within their parties, which is a shame for her.
She was answered by Momčilo Leković, who said that DPS also advocated the LNG terminal when he was in power.
"And your Minister of Economy, Dragica Sekulić, said back in 2019 that the Port of Bar will be a base for liquefied gas. She even held workshops on the use of liquefied natural gas. DPS therefore supported, until the change of government, the idea of an LNG terminal in Bar. Then it was all okay and there were no public discussions", said Leković.
He pointed out that the profession should decide whether this project is good for the city or not, not politicians. When the profession gives its word, he will declare for or against and he added that he has no political fear, as his colleagues in the government believe.
Darko Janković from Movement Europe now pointed out that the discussion would have been more constructive if they had received the materials, which he praised, earlier.
"I informed myself, as much as I could, with people from the profession. Now that I know more, I think I'm in a tougher situation. If anyone has read this Memorandum of Understanding, they have seen that there is nothing binding for Montenegro or the city of Bar," said Janković.
His impression is that communication to the LNG terminal through public information channels focused on sowing fear among citizens. There are many things against the terminal, he added, but there are also positives, which is that Bar may have energy in its area and would get part of the infrastructure needed for that, the possibility of storing gas as an energy source, and partial independence.
"If it is the intention of the current and previous governments that this should happen, I think that everything should have been much more transparent", he concluded.
He mentioned the referendum as an option because he does not want 37 of them in the Hall to decide the fate of all the residents of Bar.
When it comes to the highway through Crmnica, he is convinced that no one will run over anyone's houses, graves or religious buildings.
Biram Bar councilor, Aleksandar Lekić, believes that the PPCG is the subject of many corrections, amendments and additions, and he considers travel routes to be particularly problematic. He does not think that the LNG terminal is a good idea and that there are more negative than positive consequences.
As the main negative aspects, he mentioned the potential threat to security and environmental pollution.
The president of the SO, Bransilav Nenezić, said that there is no possibility to safely store liquefied gas in Bar and that this is the word of the profession. The construction of the LNG terminal would mean, according to him, that cruise ships and other ships that are of great importance for tourism can no longer come to Bar. He noted that Montenegro does not have gas and would become dependent on imported gas.
"A large number of steps have been arranged based on that Memorandum that was signed and we have LNG in the PPCG proposal. The European Union has signed a resolution on the abolition of fossil fuels by 2050. Why, ask yourself, the city of Bar? LNG does not have to be built in Bar," said Nenezić.
The eighteenth session of the SO Bar, convened under an urgent procedure at the initiative of the head of the local parliament, had only one item on the agenda, a proposal for amendments to the PPCG, and only the conclusions of the session were voted on.
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