Momčilo Leković, an MP and councilor of the Democrats in Bar, announced that the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism, and State Property has confirmed his claims, indicating that the construction site for the “Liko Soho” hotel is currently on hold, with no ongoing construction at the location.

The ministry’s response, which Leković provided to the media, stated, “This ministry is unaware of the reasons for the cessation of work at the site, as the construction has not been halted by any inspection from our department, and therefore, there are no legal or other barriers preventing the project’s continuation.”

Leković expressed that he was not surprised by the information regarding the project delay.

“The anticipated completion date for the hotel construction is August 1, 2026, with plans to welcome the first guests in the first quarter of that year. Unfortunately, the news about the delay does not take me by surprise. We have been tracking the sale of this prime parcel of land since 2018, when the then Government attempted to sell it for a minimal price (92 euros per m²). Despite our considerable opposition, the Government led by Duško Marković managed to sell nearly 30,000 square meters of state land at a price of only 132 euros per square meter to a consortium of domestic, controversial investors, associated with scandals and previous project failures, along with a foreign investor whose commitment to building a significant facility on this site raised no doubts in my mind,” he stated.

“At that time, I assessed that a valuable piece of state property, covering an area of 27,972 square meters in the city center, just 100 meters from the sea, was sold for merely 3,692,304 euros, while the Municipality of Bar received just over one million euros, resulting in significant financial losses for both the Municipality and the state of Montenegro. I also believed that the domestic investor would attempt to use the construction of a 5-star hotel, which initially allows for exemption from utility fees, to alter the business model during construction, following a well-established pattern, where a substantial part of the facility would be converted into residential units for sale, leaving the hotel merely as a facade,” Leković added.

This scheme, he noted, came to light in 2022 when investors requested the Government of Dritan Abazović for consent to modify their plan and develop the hotel under a mixed-use model.

“The investor intended to sell all 322 accommodation units at an average price of 521,000 euros each. We raised our concerns, but the specifics of what occurred afterward remain unclear to me. Nonetheless, I believe this is a troubling conclusion. The uncertainty regarding whether and when the project will resume leads one to question if Bar will continue to hold the reputation of a city rife with failed projects that have met the same fate. I firmly believe there are grounds for an investigation by the prosecutor’s office, and this situation has warranted attention since the land sale itself,” the statement concluded.

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