Montenegro Airports (ACG), the state-owned company that manages Montenegro’s airports, awarded the University of Belgrade Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering a 29,040-euro contract including VAT in early October for a risk study of Tivat Airport’s runway strip. ACG’s procurement documents give the faculty half a year to complete the assessment.
The documents put the tender’s estimated value at 30,237 euros including VAT. The faculty submitted the only offer during the tender, which ran from 25 to 29 September. No appeals were filed during the public procurement process.
Under the study requirements, the faculty must assess risks linked to the width of the runway strip and to an aircraft veering sideways off the runway. It must judge the severity of a runway excursion against the worst potential outcome for the aircraft, people and equipment, and propose measures to reduce risks assessed as tolerable or unacceptable.
The assessment must also examine the risk of regulatory non-compliance from existing obstacles near Tivat Airport that penetrate the transitional surface relative to the runway strip. It will cover risks associated with a potential change in aircraft parking arrangements. ACG requires the work to follow ICAO Doc 9859 and ICAO Annex 14, along with other regulations.
Airport investment plans
The Government of Montenegro has for some time signalled increased investment in modernising the airports in Tivat and Podgorica. The concession tender for both airports was cancelled in July. In early September, the government announced accelerated airport infrastructure development and plans for an inter-ministerial coordination body chaired by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić.
During a recent visit to Tivat Airport, Montenegro’s Transport Minister Radoš Zečević said the airport should not face major crowds, long waits and difficult operations next summer. He linked those problems to Montenegro’s reputation as a tourist destination and the quality of service, and said his ministry would fully support priorities intended to prepare the airport for the summer tourist season.
Separately, ACG submitted a request on 20 October to the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property for urban planning and technical requirements to reconstruct a building in Tivat. The ministry received the request.
Zečević described a master plan for Montenegro’s airports as a prerequisite for addressing capacity over the long term. He said it should establish required capacity and investment, the schedule and the method of implementation, using projections, expert analysis and the state’s needs rather than responding to recurring problems after they arise. Projects identified for inclusion at Tivat are a new passenger terminal, a new apron and taxiway, and comprehensive runway reconstruction.
