Cetinje, the royal capital, issued a new public call for proposals yesterday for developing a conceptual design for the second phase of the Kuk – Ivanova korita – Cetinje cable car, as there were no responses to the previous call.

The updated deadline for bid submissions for the conceptual design is set for June 9th at 15:00. The budget remains unchanged at up to 30 thousand euros, excluding VAT. The bid invitation that was canceled yesterday was open for five days, from May 4th to June 9th until 15:00.

The Kotor – Lovćen cable car began commercial operations in mid-August 2023. It runs from Dub near Kotor to Kuk on Mount Lovćen, reaching an elevation of 1,350 meters. The cable car features 48 gondolas, with a round-trip travel time of 22 minutes. The current cable car has been operational since its construction by the Leitner – Novi Volvox consortium.

Plans for extending this cable car to Ivanovi Korita and ultimately to Cetinje have been proposed. A previous study estimated that building this cable car would cost around 58.3 million euros, including VAT, deeming it a profitable and sustainable investment.

In early May last year, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić and Cetinje Mayor Nikola Đurašković met to discuss further construction of the cable car. It was mentioned that it might be possible to allocate funds for the project from the budget as early as June 2024. However, this item did not appear in the subsequent budget amendments for 2024. The current capital budget for this year does set aside 200,003 euros for preparing construction documents.

The plan introduced by the mayor and prime minister indicated that the cable car from Kuk to Cetinje aims to be completed by May 2026 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of independence.

During their meeting this spring, Prime Minister Spajić affirmed the project’s value and the Government’s wholehearted support, assuring that funds for construction would come from the capital budget.

The Government stated in May 2024, “This is currently the most critical investment for Cetinje, and it is realistic to expect completion by the 20th anniversary of independence.”

Subsequent announcements from the Ministry of Finance indicated the project wasn’t included in the 2024 budget revision because the Royal Capital of Cetinje submitted the necessary technical documentation in mid-August, after the budget revision proposal had already been approved and forwarded to the Parliament for consideration.

As of January 2024, the Royal Capital completed the feasibility analysis, cost-benefit analysis, and detailed landscape study with a visual impact assessment. They also prepared the project terms of reference and urban and technical conditions approved by the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism concerning the cable car construction continuation from Kotor to Cetinje.

The proposed project includes extending the cable car from the operational Kuk station (overlooking the Bay of Kotor) to Ivanovi Korita and then to its final destination near the Summer Stage in Cetinje. The total estimated price for this route is approximately 48.2 million euros, excluding VAT (58.32 million euros inclusive), with about 85% of the land owned by the state, reducing the need for expropriation.

According to the Government’s concession act for the “Kotor-Cetinje” cable car project from 2015, the cable car route is divided into three segments with four terminal points: Dub, Kuk (intermediate station), Ivanova Korita (intermediate station), and Cetinje, spanning approximately 15 kilometers.

“The Dub-Kuk section measures 4,130 meters in length, the Kuk – Ivanova Korita section is 3,517 meters long, while the Ivanova Korita-Cetinje section is 7,454 meters,” as detailed in the document.

News