The Municipality of Budva’s Secretariat for Property Protection has initiated legal action against “Aquaterra solutions” in the Commercial Court, seeking to terminate their contract and for the local administration to take control of all structures situated on Topliš hill, where the large Aqua Park is established.

This information was verified by the Acting Secretary for Property Protection, Vlado Ivanovic, who indicated that the company currently owes over one and a half million euros, inclusive of interest.

The Commercial Court has endorsed a decision by the public bailiff, who is expected to conduct an inventory of “Aquaterra Solutions'” movable assets, which include slides, pool pumps, restaurant furnishings, and other furniture that will be sold to recover at least part of the debt.

It has been five years since “Aquaterra solutions” last paid rent for the municipal land on Topliš hill where the Water Town was constructed.

In December 2014, the Municipality of Budva signed a long-term lease with “Aquaterra solutions” for the Aqua Park’s construction, with an annual lease fee of 255 thousand euros for four hectares of municipal land.

Due to the non-payment of rent, the Secretariat for Property Protection felt compelled to take decisive action—requesting the sale of movable property within the Aqua Park complex on Topliš Hill to collect overdue rent from “Aquaterra solutions” for 2019.

The current claim from the enforcement decision concerning the 2019 lease amounts to 313,553 euros, with the principal being 215,447 euros and the remaining balance being interest. Following the proposal from the Secretariat for Property Protection, a decision was made to alter the enforcement, allowing for proceedings to be conducted against the movable property of the debtor. “We aim to conduct a full inventory of the movable property within the Aqua Park, and the public bailiff is expected to arrange this on-site,” Ivanović informed “Vijesti” earlier.

A public bailiff is anticipated to arrive soon to inventory the items, as the municipality has no alternative means to collect its debts, given that the company’s account has been blocked by the Central Bank for an extended period.

The aqua park remained closed throughout the last tourist season, and the entire complex is in a state of severe disrepair, more resembling a ruin than a tourist destination during the summer.

Representatives from “Aquaterra solutions” informed “Vijesti” this summer that they had reached out multiple times to the Municipality of Budva but were denied an operating permit for the previous year, resulting in the closure of what was once the largest tourist attraction all summer long. The aqua park has been declining for years with no investments made, and the state of the facility was getting progressively worse.

Additional complications arose as the company failed to settle city water utility bills for two consecutive years, accumulating over 125 thousand euros in unpaid fees, leading to the complex being disconnected from the water supply.

The Municipality of Budva signed a long-term lease agreement with “Aquaterra solutions” on December 24, 2014, for the Aqua Park’s construction. Subsequent amendments to the lease were made annually, with the last annex, Annex III, approved on July 2, 2019, amounting to 255,447 euros. The payment was to be made in full within seven days, by July 9. However, the Municipality has not collected any payments over the past five years.

The Aqua Park construction project, heralded as a key initiative for Montenegro’s tourism industry, was initially promoted in 2006. Unfortunately, the project stalled when the Cypriot company “Numerico Trade Limited” failed to bring the vision to fruition, leaving the Municipality with significant debts. In January 2011, the prosecutor’s office took over the situation, prompting inspections and the seizure of documentation from the Municipality of Budva. Despite being linked to one of the largest corruption scandals, where taxpayers bore the weight of the Cypriot company’s debts, the case was archived in July 2021 by then Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnic.

Under the administration of DPS staff, the municipality managed to engage “Aquaterra solutions” at the end of 2014, as they proposed the most competitive offer in the tender process. Backed by Russian investment, the company secured a 30-year lease for 41,889 square meters of municipal land in Topliš and agreed to purchase for two million euros the equipment from the Spanish manufacturer “Action waterscapes SL”, which had been stored in Bar’s port for years after being acquired by the Cypriot company.

“Aquaterra solutions” successfully constructed a substantial water city within two years, officially opening in June 2016.

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