Why Mojkovac Square Became "Shkodar on the Bojana": "A Year Passes, and Nothing Is Done"

The reconstruction of the main town square in Mojkovac, which was supposed to be completed six months ago, is still not finished, even after almost a year since the start of the works.

While the Municipality says that the delays are the result of numerous project shortcomings and unforeseen work, businessmen claim that they are suffering huge losses and are announcing lawsuits for lost profits.

Why has Mojkovac Square become, as many call it, the new "Shkodra on the Bojana"?

"A year goes by, and nothing gets done." While looking at the bill in his restaurant for just four euros in sales for the entire previous day, Mijo Nedović, a businessman from Mojkovac, describes the situation in the center of Mojkovac, where work is being carried out on the town square. All deadlines have been missed, while businessmen operating in the center are recording large losses.

"In 2025, my finances were 80 percent worse, and in 2026 I think they will be 99 percent worse. Nothing is being done," Nedović told Television Vijesti.

"We are all at a loss. There is no tourism. The city is almost closed. The mayor defends the main contractor and it goes in circles. This is definitely not working and it certainly won't be finished in the next year," said Zoran Dulović, a businessman from Mojkovac.

The center of Mojkovac is still a construction site. Although the reconstruction of the square was supposed to be completed in six months, or at the end of last year. The Municipality says that the work has been slowed down by numerous additional interventions that were not foreseen in the original project.

"When it comes to the works themselves, we are practically leaving the country. The tamponing is mostly complete, except for the intersection that still needs to be worked on. We expect that in the next two to three months the entire square will be concreted, followed by paving with cobblestones and stone," said Boško Laketić, Vice President of the Mojkovac Municipality.

The project, financed by the Municipality of Mojkovac, was initially estimated at 2,4 million euros. However, due to numerous omissions in the project documentation and subsequent changes, the Vice President of the Municipality believes that its value will be significantly higher. It is precisely because of these problems that disagreements between the designer and the contractor continue to this day, which, in addition to numerous challenges, is slowing down the work.

"If the square had been built according to the project, it would have been 30 to 40 centimeters higher than the thresholds of the surrounding buildings, which would have meant that the shops would have been accessed from the square by stairs. Also, the park would have had to be dug 30 to 40 centimeters deeper, which would have damaged the veins of the existing trees," said Laketić.

The story of the reconstruction of the city square was initiated by the previous local government, led by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). The party is now saying that the current government has shown complete incompetence in the implementation of all capital projects and, as they claim, is trying to shift public attention from infrastructure problems to identity issues.

"Today, you have a situation where the city is being decorated with tricolors, that we are returning to national themes and flags, in order to provoke a reaction from the opposition. In this way, an attempt is being made to camouflage complete inaction and inactivity when it comes to infrastructure projects," said Predrag Smolović, president of the Municipal Board (OO) of DPS Mojkovac.

While responsibility for the delay and numerous omissions will be determined later, businessmen say they will seek compensation for their losses through the court. They say that the one-time financial aid they received last year has not even come close to compensating for the damage they have been suffering for more than a year.