Last year, Barska plovidba ferry service made an exceptional financial result and profit of EUR 6.2 million, announced Prime Minister Dritan Abazović and added that they want to develop the maritime economy in a different way than before.
During his working visit to Bar, he said that the result of Barska plovidba is 156% better than in 2021.
– There are many problems and we want to develop the maritime economy in a completely different way than was the case before – said Abazović.
During his stay in Barska plovidba, he said that rarely any company can survive with two ships and that the goal is to increase the fleet.
– The emphasis is to establish the Bar-Bari line, not only during the summer tourist season, but to make it compatible with the national interest – which is to develop Montenegro 365, i.e. to make the country connected and open to all parts of the world 365 days in the year – said Abazović.
He said that the situation Is like this today because of the “huge noise in the previous period”. According to him, their goal is not to rent a ship, nor to have someone else provide these services.
– The goal is to increase the state’s capital and create a company that is healthy and generates profit for the state and thus protects the national interest of Montenegro – Abazović stated.
He said that Bar is ahead of everyone in terms of infrastructure monopoly.
– There is no city like Bar, which has this kind of infrastructure and resources. The ambition is to complete Luka Bar. It will be a great support for Barska plovidba, maritime traffic and business through the port – said Abazović.
He added that Barska plovidba should buy the ship.
– The state has already helped state companies through state aid. If they are going to work as in the previous period, there is no way out with any budget projection – Abazović believes.
He assessed that It can be done in a profitable way, stressing that a good plan should be devised.
– There should be more lines, in the off-season it wouldn’t be every day – said Abazović.
He added that it is similar with Port of Bar, which he believes can earn much more as a complete player. Abazović stated that those who do not want to work in the state administration and do not want to generate profit for the state, should make room for others, and that there is nothing wrong with that. According to him, Barska plovidba has an excess of workers, and that “their philosophical thought is that they lack workers”.
– This means that you have a number of workers, but the ones you need do not exist. Let’s do everything so that people who want to work and their results can be seen – said Abazović.
The President of Bar Municipality, Dušan Raičević, said that he was pleased with the Government’s support for the implementation of many projects, which should be financed from the capital budget. He said that he was pleased with the positive financial indicators of the operations of the Port of Bar and Barska plovidba.
– I am pleased by the fact that the Government is taking certain steps in order to unify the national resources of the port and put into operation the capacities available to the port of Bar. Bar navigation and the ferry line, as a special emotion for all of us from Bar, are of particular interest to us – said Raičević.
He stated that they expressed readiness from the level of the Municipality in order to solve the problem of the purchase of the ship and that they are talking about putting into operation the hitherto non-functioning property that Barska plovidba has at its disposal.
