Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – The tender to award concessions for the airports in Podgorica and Tivat is harmful to the state and should be annulled, representatives of the United Reform Action (URA) have said, adding that a new tender should be launched exclusively for Tivat.

They believe that the funds generated should be used to reconstruct and improve the capacities of Podgorica Airport, which must remain state-owned.

URA representatives noted that it is not in the country’s best interest to hand over a monopoly over air traffic to a private corporation, especially not for just €100 million under the 2018 tender, given that the value of money has significantly depreciated in the meantime due to extreme inflation.

“It is completely wrong to give a concessionaire the greatest economic asset Montenegro currently has, after Elektroprivreda, for €100 million, an amount equal to the profit that the airports, in their current condition, could generate in five years,” the press release reads.

URA representatives said that if the Government decides to award a concession for Airports of Montenegro, it would be yet another decision taken against the interests of the state and its citizens.