The reasons for the delay were the failure to prepare the project at the time of the former Minister for traffic, Ivan Brajovic, referring to imprecise and incomplete geological and other data on the highway route, as well as forgetting the Smokovac cross-section as part of the contract for works. In the contract, the works on the electric and plumbing network, as well as the relocation of the power lines, have been forgotten. The official construction of the highway section began on May 11, 2015, with a completion deadline of four years, but the works started much later.
PHOTO: Zoran Đurić
Due to incomplete documentation, the CRBS project design teams from China's main contractor company were not in a position to start the project, so the major works began with nearly a year of delays. Not even the exquisite efforts by Chinese contractors could speed up the work to complete it within the anticipated deadline.
Since the Montenegrin side is guilty for the works being late, no penalties can be charged to the Chinese contractor. To avoid acknowledging the guilt, the Government is preparing a "compromise solution", which will predict that the Chinese partner will be given an Annex to build the forgotten cross-section Smokovac, for which they will be paid another 30 million euro. This way, they will extend the deadline for completion of the works. Until September last year, representatives of the Montenegrin government announced that CRBS's obligation within the designed 809 million euro for the "priority route" is to design and construct the first phase of the cross-section of Smokovac, i.e., the kilometer and a half of side-road to join the highway from Zlatica in Podgorica.
Markovic and Nurkovic visiting the site PHOTO: Zoran Đurić
At that meeting, representatives of the Chinese contractor told them that the construction of the cross-section is not their obligation. Subsequently, the first reaction of the Minister of Traffic, Osman Nurkovic, and Prime Minister Dusko Marković was that the construction of the cross-section is a CRBC obligation within the contracted price and that they would engage an arbitration.
"The dilemma is whether the cross-section is contracted or not. In that regard, a commission I formed is working on it, and we will soon meet with the contractor. If we do not agree the arbitration is possible, if it is determined that this is not an obligation of the investor, we will find the money from the budget and pay. We will not allow it to slow down the overall dynamics and the opening of the highway," said Nurkovic.
Afterward, the Government read the agreement once again and realized that the previous minister’s team had made a mistake and that they would not be paid for the arbitration, hiring an arbitrator, and the costs of the dispute. At the time of contracting this section of the highway, Nurkovic was the director of Monteputa, within which operated a business unit for the highway - even then he had to be acquainted with all the activities because, among other things, due to this "increased volume of work", the managers of “Monteput” granted special cash benefits to themselves.
Nurković PHOTO: Savo Prelević
At the sites of Monteput and the Ministry of Traffic, there are still documents stating that the Smokovac cross-section is part of the "priority route" as well as that the contract foresees its construction. Nurkovic continues to remain silent regarding the problems, and it was reported in September that the Smokovac cross-section was forgotten and that it will have to be paid additionally. Nurkovic did not answer any of the questions asked then. Even now he did not answer the questions such as "What progress has been made in Smokovac - Uvac - Matesevo in three years?" "In what stages of work are the planned facilities?" "How many facilities are being constructed now?" Are all permits issued for this route? If not, how many other buildings still did not get the building permit?" "When will those permits be received?" Is it true that the road will not be completed within the deadline, i.e., by 11th May next year?" "What happens if CRBC does not complete the works within the deadline?" "What is happening with the cross-section on Smokovac?"
85 percent of tunnels have been completed over the past three years, as well as about half of all work at the bridges, while intensive works on the open highway route have recently begun.
Text by Ivan Cadjenovic and Goran Kapor, on May 13th, 2018, read more at Vijesti
