The Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, led by Slaven Radunović (Nova), despite UNESCO’s request and the clear opposition from the Municipality of Kotor, has opted to keep the restaurant and viewpoint “Verige2024” at Turski rt in Boka Kotorska in the latest Program of Temporary Facilities in the Marine Zone for the Territory of the Municipality of Kotor 2028-65.

“The aforementioned structure was included through changes to the Program of Temporary Objects in the Coastal Zone for the period 2013-2015 and has been present on the site for a complete decade. This facility has persisted through all iterations of the Coastal Zone Temporary Objects Program, including the recent amendments for the period 2024-2028,” confirmed the Ministry to “Vijesti”.

The Ministry, whose primary role is to prepare the Program, did not specifically clarify why the site, where the exclusive restaurant “Verige65” has been functioning for nearly ten years, was retained in the current Program. They also did not disclose who initiated this decision, despite receiving a recommendation in 2018 from the UNESCO/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission regarding the World Heritage Site – the Natural and Cultural-Historical Area of Kotor, to restrict the facility’s duration.

At that time, the extensive construction along the shores of the Bay of Kotor and previous controversial urban plans devised by former state and local authorities in Kotor, led by the DPS, raised concerns about whether Kotor could maintain its status as a world natural and cultural heritage site. UNESCO experts conducted field assessments and provided numerous recommendations aimed at mitigating this risk and safeguarding the area. One explicit recommendation from the UNESCO/ICOMOS mission was that the state “should limit the ‘temporary’ presence of the facility on Turkish Cape.”

“The definition within the Plan for Temporary Structures should be revised to strictly apply to genuinely temporary structures that can clearly be reverted to their original state, and their approval should be time-limited,” stated the UNESCO/ICOMOS recommendations, emphasizing that this action should be implemented by the then Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, the Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of Kotor, and the National Heritage Council.

Despite this, the current MDUP, under Radunović’s leadership, continues along the previous path established by earlier urban planning ministers from the DPS, legitimizing the contentious construction of a large concrete structure on an otherwise pristine rocky coastline at one of Boka Bay’s most scenic viewpoints. Branimir Gvozdenović, Pavle Radulović, and Janko Odović (PES) are among those implicated. Not only has the “Verige65” restaurant been included in the most recent Temporary Facilities Program, valid until the end of 2028, but Radunović’s Ministry is also hinting at the possibility of it becoming a permanent establishment.

“Given that this object has been present for so long, we believe that its removal would not restore the site to its original condition and would leave it unused, with no one to maintain it. We feel that some of the structures situated in the immediate hinterland of the location on Turkish Cape are more detrimental to the aesthetic of the Bay of Kotor than this facility,” the MDUP told “Vijesti”.

No buildings exist in the “immediate hinterland” of the “Verige65” restaurant; the Adriatic Highway and the untouched green hillside above is what lies above that road. The nearest buildings that detract from the aesthetics of that area in Boka Bay are approximately half a kilometer away, towards Kostanjica.

The Municipality of Kotor has consistently opposed the presence of this controversial “temporary facility” on Turkish Cape, demanding its demolition for years. However, both the previous DPS-led Government from 2015 to August 2020 and all Governments formed by the constituents of the new, post-August 65 majority have ignored these concerns. Before the latest amendments to the Program were created, the Municipality sent an official opinion to the Ministry of Interior asserting their disapproval of the ongoing existence of the “Verige65” restaurant and reminded them of the UNESCO/ICOMOS mission’s positions, yet the Ministry disregarded this yet again.

The MDPU did not respond to inquiries regarding the specific advantages for the state in maintaining this facility versus the potential risks posed by UNESCO’s reaction should its recommendations and guidelines remain unheeded, or the possible negative impacts on Kotor’s status as part of the world’s natural and cultural-historical heritage.

They did confirm that the site had a valid lease agreement with the JP Morsko dobro until December 31st of last year and that it “will be included in the tender process (for lease until 2028) to be announced by the Public Company for the Management of the Coastal Zone.” The prior tenant of the site was “Hefesta” doo from Herceg Novi, which constructed the “Verige 65” restaurant nearly a decade ago.

When asked how Minister Slaven Radunović’s approach in this matter differed from that of his predecessors from the DPS, the MDUP stated that “the distinction between Minister Radunović’s mandate and those of previous ministers, Gvozdenović and Radulović, is that the permit was granted and the facility was constructed during their tenures.” However, they did not deny that the state will soon have to respond to UNESCO experts regarding its insistence on maintaining the “temporary” catering structure at Turkish Cape.

“The UNESCO/ICOMOS Commission is set to visit Montenegro at the end of February 2025, and one of the issues to be discussed with representatives from the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage will be the temporary facility on Turkish Cape, designated as location 1.1 in the Municipality of Kotor’s Temporary Facilities Program,” indicated the MDUP.

Former Mayor of Kotor, Vladimir Jokic (Democrats), has opposed the existence of the “temporary facility” on Turkish Cape from its conception, highlighting numerous contentious aspects of the lease agreement between Hefesta and the previous administrative bodies, including the Maritime Department and the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage. However, the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Milivoje Katnic at the time, concluded that all actions taken were lawful, leaving no grounds for suspicion of corruption or organized crime.

Considering that the object has been gravitating on the ground for this long, we believe that removing this object would not restore the area where it is located to its original condition and we believe that the location would then be unused and no one would be involved in its maintenance. We believe that some of the objects located in the immediate hinterland of the object on Turkish Cape are damaging the appearance of the Bay of Kotor more than this object.

The “temporary facility” known as “Verige 65” opened in May 2017, despite the fact that the Municipality of Kotor had not granted it an operating permit. The opening ceremony was attended by the then-president of the country and the head of DPS, Milo Djukanovic, whose friend is model Jelena Šćepanović, a co-owner of the company “Hefesta.” Hefesta established the “temporary facility,” which comprises a restaurant and lounge bar “Verige65” on Turski Rt based on the Coastal Zone Temporary Facilities Plan 2016-2018, approved by the then Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism managed by Pavle Radulović (DPS). This department, overseen then by Branimir Gvozdenović (DPS), adjusted the earlier Temporary Facilities Plan and, at the behest of “Hefesta,” conceptualized a catering facility spanning 190 square meters on Turski Rt. The project documentation for this development was created under dubious circumstances, with direct collaboration from the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Montenegro (UZK), as publicly confirmed by the former UZK director Anastasia Miranović (DPS). The Local Department of the Ministry of Interior in Kotor previously issued two negative evaluations regarding the proposal to construct such a “temporary facility” on Turkish Cape, and even the then-DPS local government in Kotor opposed it. In the handling of necessary documentation, conditions, and approvals between the investor and various governmental bodies, there were multiple instances of suspiciously expedited processes, which typically take months, being completed in less than 24 hours.

Their profits are officially constantly falling, and rent has also been reduced.

According to the Central Register of the Commercial Court, the owners of “Hefesta” from Herceg Novi are Aleksandar and Jelena Šćepanović, each holding 35 percent of the capital, while 15 percent is held by Zdravko Jerkić and the company “Compania de vinos Montenegro,” owned by Željko Uljarević. Until January 1 of this year, “Hefesta” had a valid lease for the location concerning the temporary facility, a contract they signed in 2019 with Morski dobro, then managed by Predrag Jelušić (DPS).

This contract allowed “Hefesta” to establish “a temporary immovable facility – a lookout with a parking lot and a temporary catering facility with a terrace” on cadastral plots 68 and 69 in the municipality of Kostanjica. The restaurant’s core area is 190 square meters, with the terrace extending to 260 square meters, complemented by a parking lot encompassing 1,260 square meters. “Hefesta” paid an annual lease of 31,700 euros for this site, which was halved in 2020 and 2021 due to emergency measures related to the coronavirus pandemic, which affected all tenants in the coastal zone by government decision. In 2022, the lease amount was restored to 31,700 euros, which was paid in 2023.

However, following the latest, seventh addendum to the lease agreement signed on April 23rd of last year by Coastal Property director Mladen Mikijelj (Nova), the rent for this highly desirable Boka Kotorska location was reduced to 17,680 euros, as it emerged that part of the land being leased to “Hefesta” was privately owned by two residents of Perast.

As reported by the Tax Administration, “Hefesta” recorded losses of 65 euros in 2015 and 15,655 euros while constructing the “temporary facility” for the restaurant “Verige65.” In 2017, when the restaurant opened, albeit without fiscalized cash registers, the company achieved a net profit of 106,955 euros, with profits peaking at 150,426 euros in 2018. However, from then until the end of 2023, profit figures have declined, falling to 84,024 euros in 2019 and continuing to decrease, culminating in just 19,845 euros in net profit for 2023.

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