26 April 2019 - Prime Minister Duško Marković said that the development of Ulcinj is considered significant for the development of the whole of Montenegro and that Ulcinj should very soon have a place at the top of the municipalities by the level of development.
"The development perspectives of this municipality are remarkable, not only in the Montenegrin context but also wider. In the first place, we are committed to a responsible approach both at the state, and especially at the local level. And it must be not only administrative, but essential when it comes to resolving the development priorities of such a representative city. In the previous period, the State provided favourable conditions for investing in high-quality hotel capacities, and their attractiveness was additionally raised by the recent launch of the economic citizenship programme," the Prime Minister noted at the Prime Minister's questions. He assessed that the enviable tourist tradition of Ulcinj represents a reliable basis for attracting investors with a clear vision and potential, and that the Government wants such investors at the locations of former tourist facilities "Galeb", "Lido" and "Jadran"
Answering the question of Vice President of the Assembly Genci Nimanbegu on the plans for these three locations, the Prime Minister said that all three locations have so far been unsuccessful examples of potential development projects.
PM Marković welcomed MP Nimanbegu's interest to discuss the challenges in the implementation of these three projects, which in terms of expected investments have the potential to be the development milestone of Ulcinj, as well as to enrich the tourist offer and contribute to the employment of citizens.
He said that the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism in the previous period provided detailed information on the chronology of the procedures and the status of implementation of these projects. He further stated that to implement the Conclusions of the Government of Montenegro from 10 March 2016, a legal adviser was engaged to draft an analysis of the obligations of the contracting parties and the undertaken activities of both contracting parties in the case of the Galeb Hotel, which provides an overview of possible termination procedures, as well as the legal consequences of the contract termination. The opinion of the Controller related to the Agreement on the sale of the Galeb Hotel noted that the buyer paid a purchase price of 5.7 million EUR in accordance with the deadlines stipulated by the Contract, that he provided timely guarantees and fully respected the Social Programme in the amount of 1.7 million EUR, but did not implement the investment in accordance with the Investment Plan due to the delay of the local self-government in providing planning assumptions for the implementation of the project. The Municipality of Ulcinj passed the spatial planning documents six years after the date of conclusion of the Contract, which prevented the buyer from investing the amount determined by the Agreement.
"When it comes to the implementation of the Lido Hotel Purchase Agreement, the findings of the Controller confirm that in this case the buyer paid a full purchase price of 10.8 million EUR within the agreed period of time, that he respected the Social Programme, but that the investment was not implemented in accordance with the Investment Plan, among other things, due to the lack of solution for 75% of the environmental problem - the Port Milena channel," PM Marković said.
In the case of a lawsuit filed by the Public Enterprise for the Management of the Maritime Property before the Commercial Court to terminate the Long Term Rental Agreement on the location of the former Jadran Hotel, a final verdict on this case has not yet been issued, the Prime Minister said, adding that inertia of the local self-government was observed regarding the recommendations of the Government to remove objects from Cape Bratislava, in order to create conditions for the tourist valorization of this site.
Prime Minister Marković stressed that investors with a clear vision and potential are desirable in Ulcinj, and that the Government will act in partnership with all those who are willing to invest their capital in sustainable development projects.
