Topolica 1 – spatial plan for bigger profits
The data available to MANS are indicative of suspicion that the Mayor of Bar Žarko Pavićević misused his office by launching the amendments to the planning documents towards a drastic increase in the number of storeys of buildings envisaged, and thus enabled the company owned by Aco Đukanović to substantially increase the value of land that was previously bought from the Municipality of Bar.
On a public competition held on 08 September 2006, the Municipality of Bar sold to the company Monte Nova D.O.O. two plots of buildable land of the total area of 4,885 m2 for somewhat over 2 million euro. At the time, Aco Đukanović, brother of former prime minister, held a majority stake in Monte Nova. The agreements between the Municipality of Bar and Monte Nova were signed by Anka Vojvodić, the then Mayor, and Marija Delijević, CEO of Monte Nova.
According to the Detailed Urban Plan (DUP) Topolica 1 valid at the time, two residential and commercial buildings were envisaged for the said plots, one of ground floor + six floors + an attic (P+6+Pk), of gross floor area (GFA) of 8,200m2, and another with P+8+Pk, of total GFA of 13,900 m2. This plan was adopted in December 2005.
An excerpt from the DUP valid at the time of sale
The location is very attractive, in immediate vicinity to the Port of Bar, some hundred meters away from the main administrative building and the same distance from the marina.
On the same day, on 8 September, the two agreements on payment of communal fees of total value of somewhat over 2.5 million euro was also closed.
The Communal Fee Agreement was concluded for the maximum built areas envisaged by the said plan, or the total of 22,100m2 GFA. The Agreement also stipulated the developer’s obligation to construct the buildings for which the fees have been paid within 36 months. Although the fees were paid in 2006, there are no data that Đukanović ever applied for the building permit as per the building sizes envisaged by the plan at the time.
In late January 2009, the amendments to DUP “Topolica 1” were launched by the decision of the Mayor of Bar, Žarko Pavićević. The task was entrusted to the company “Basketing” owned by Nebojša Milošević, a brother of a high-ranking DPS official and the current Minister of Agriculture, Tarzan Milošević. Draft amendments were put for public discussion between 10 and 25 July 2009.
In the new version of the Plan, “Basketing” introduced substantial changes in the number of floors allowable for building on plots owned by Aco Đukanović. Instead of up to six, or eight floors, respectively, envisaged by the old plan, the new draft plan featured three tower-buildings of mixed residential and commercial use of P+15, P+16 and P+17 floors.
2009 amendments to the Plan
The magnitude of the increase is well illustrated by the fact that instead of the initial 22,100 m2 GFA from the time of the land sale, the company of Aco Đukanović was now made possible to build as much as 66,000 m2 GFA. Translated into something more palpable, it involves some 200-250 apartments and 80 to 120 business premises, as well as a subterranean 300-lot garage.
Even if nothing is ever built, Đukanović is now in a position to make good profit from the sale of the given plots since their value has been tripled thanks to the decision of Pavićević to amend the plan. The question here is what motivated Žarko Pavićević to change the planning document.
During the public debate, there were no comments referring to Zone A of the said Plan, i.e. the location where the plots owned by Đukanović are found. Not even the written comments included any reference to the plots in question, implying that increased size was agreed behind the sense, in direct communication with the developer. The amendments to “Topolica 1” were adopted in late September 2009.
Following the Plan adoption, the Secretary for Urban Planning of the Municipality of Bar, Đuro Karanikić said that he was in “permanent communication with “Invest Nova” company[1] who was interested in the adoption of the plan amendments“. What remains unclear is whether the company only enquired about the Plan or was actively involved in the definition of solutions that significantly increased the value of the plots.
Exact location of the said plots in the DUP Topolica 1
It is particularly problematic that the amendments ensued relatively quickly after the sale of municipal land to Đukanović’s company at a rate far below the market prices given the current development prospects on the said plots. Đukanović paid the plots at 323 eur/m2 for the plot with originally envisaged 6-storey building, and 465 eur/m2 for the plot with originally envisaged 8-storey building. By way of comparison, Fadis company paid in the immediate vicinity 616 eur/m2 for a plot where a 2-storey building was originally envisaged.
With the plan amendments, based on sheer increase of the land value, Đukanović earned almost the triple amount than what he paid for the plots with envisaged smaller size buildings.
Given that Đukanović never commenced the development of buildings as envisaged by the original plan, although he paid the communal fees to that, there is a concern here that the Mayor of Bar was influenced into increasing the size of buildings envisaged, and by extension, the value of the disputed plots, by amending the plan.
Regretfully, this is yet another in a string of cases supporting the concerns expressed by MANS regarding the actions of the Mayor-in-office, Žarko Pavićević. Pavićević’s decision to keep silent on all these matters is disconcerting; as the most prominent person in the Bar municipality, he is first called upon to explain his actions, and it is beyond dispute that he holds all the relevant information.
We take this opportunity to invite him once again to speak of the development of a sport hall, two illegally constructed floors on a building in the centre of Bar, over 275,000 m2 of municipal land registered to ZIB, the Tehnopromet case and the sale of their assets, the Fadis case, the linkages with the Russian-Montenegrin company Longrun Invest whose buildings he legalised, the agreement with the Postal Services of Montenegro on the construction of a building where his company is in breach of the agreement.
Obviously, there is many an outstanding issue where Pavićević can and must provide answers, both before the citizens of Bar and the competent state prosecutor. Although we believe there are enough grounds and facts that could tickle the state prosecutor’s attention for the doings of Pavićević and his team, MANS will continue to examine in detail both the previous, and the emerging business arrangement of the Mayor of Bar and his company.
Although this might be the most striking example, the case of Đukanović’s plots is not the only one linked with the controversial amendments to the DUP “Topolica 1“. Apart from having legalised two floors on a building he developed with Miodrag Đurović in Bar downtown, the amendments launched by Pavićević brought gains to some other among the builders in Bar.
Thus, thanks to Pavićević, instead of a commercial 2-storey building, “Fadis” built a mixed residential and commercial 5-storey building. One floor each was also added to the buildings of Bar-based companies “Longrun invest” and “Keka“. As many as three floors were added by Pavićević to the building that he still did not manage to build for the needs of the Postal Services of Montenegro.
[1] The plots became owned by Invest Nova, when Đukanović brought them as equity of Monte Nova in July 2007. Monte Nova was deleted from the register of companies in 2008.
