Dealing with Construction Permits in
Montenegro
Listed below is detailed summary of the procedures, time and costs to build a warehouse —including obtaining necessary licenses and permits, completing required notifications and inspections and obtaining utility connections.
The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.
-
Building a warehouse
-
Estimated Warehouse Value:
EUR 715,000
- City: Podgorica
| No. |
Procedure |
Time to Complete |
Associated Costs |
| 1 |
Obtain proof of ownership from the Real Estate Administration
Agency: Real Estate Administration
|
1 day
|
EUR 5
|
| 2 |
Obtain a copy of the site map from the Real Estate Administration
It takes 2 days, as graphical database is not digital and analogue plans need drafting for each separate project.
Agency: Real Estate Administration
|
2 days
|
EUR 8
|
| 3 |
Obtain urban development and technical requirements from the municipality
The new Construction Law (2008) provides for companies not to enter into time-consuming procedure of obtaining the decision on location as a precondition for entering the design phase. This process is done at the stage of issuance of building permit. At the pre-design stage it is sufficient to follow the urban-technical conditions for that particular area contained in the general or local spatial plan. However, Podgorica does not have a completely updated set of technical conditions, detailed spatial plans and maps yet. According to the implementation regulations there is a one year period for each local government to adopt its local detailed maps and plans. Thereafter, spatial plans, urban technical conditions, requests for issuance of construction permits, construction permits and commencement of construction works notices are to be published on the governmental web sites. The implementation period for all local authorities to introduce web-based platforms is also one year and has not expired yet.
The responsible authority for projects less than 3,000 square meter is the Municipality of Podgorica. This procedure takes on average 60 days.
According to the new Construction Law (2008) Article 88, the process of review of conceptual project and main project may be conducted by a business organization which is licensed and which meets the conditions referred to in Articles 83, 84 and 85 of this Law. The review of the conceptual project and the main project must not be performed by a person who participated in producing such projects. Previously this function was performed by the Ministry of Economic Development.
Agency: Municipality of Podgorica
|
60 days
|
EUR 150
|
| 4 |
Obtain main project study
BuildCo must hire a licensed design and engineering company to create the main project study. The cost is between EUR 6 to 10 per square meter.
Agency: Licensed design and engineering company
|
60 days
|
EUR 13,006
|
| 5 |
Obtain fire protection study
BuildCo must hire a private licensed company to create a fire protection study and sprinkler installation project. The study is later submitted to the Ministry of Interior for clearance. The sprinkler installation system is required for buildings over 400 square meters and industrial buildings. The creation of the study costs between 300 EUR and 600 EUR while the creation of the sprinkler installation project costs between 0.6 EUR and 0.8 EUR per square meter.
Agency: Elektroprivreda Crne Gore, EPCG (Electric Power Industry of Montenegro)
|
15 days
|
EUR 1,410
|
| 6 |
Obtain clearance to connect to the electricity network
In Podgorica BuildCo would have to pay for the initial clearance from utility companies.
Agency: Water Supply Company
|
20 days
|
EUR 200
|
| * 7 |
Obtain clearance to connect to the water and sewerage network
Article 62 of the new Construction Law (2008) stipulates that the utility companies are required to issue any preliminary clearance to provide connection to their services before the design stage. It is assumed that the urban development plans and technical requirement plans bear all relevant information and are publicly available. However, in practice due to early stages of reform and lack of capacity of utility companies, builders still have to visit each authority separately.
Agency: Telecom Montenegro
|
16 days
|
EUR 234
|
| * 8 |
Obtain clearance to connect to the telecommunications network
According to municipal tariffs and fees the cost is calculated based on the total area of warehouse. Anything between 1,000- 3,000 square meters is EUR 340.
Article 62 of the new Construction Law (2008) stipulates that the utility companies are required to issue any preliminary clearance to provide connection to their services before the design stage. It is assumed that the urban development plans and technical requirement plans bear all relevant information and are publicly available. However, in practice due to early stages of reform and lack of capacity of utility companies, builders still have to visit each authority separately.
Agency: Agency for building and development of Podgorica
|
15 days
|
EUR 340
|
| * 9 |
Pay compensation for utilities provision on construction land
The fees are determined according to the following schedule (in EUR per square meter):
a. ZONE I: ZONE A 152, ZONE B 132, ZONE C 112;
b. ZONE II 82;
c. ZONE III 50;
d. ZONE IV 25;
e. ZONE V 50 (where most likely the warehouse would be located).
For warehouses, only 50% of the fee is applied.
As of March 2009, the Municipality of Podgorica issued the Decision on Compensation for utilities provision on construction land. The agency to which the amount of EUR 65.28 per square meter is paid is: the Agency for Building and Development of Podgorica. The amount is paid in total before submitting the request for occupancy permit. If the payment is made 15 days from the day of the issuance of the building permit, the amount is decreased by 10%. If the investor pays the total amount immediately after signing the agreement with the agency, the amount is decreased by another 10%. There is also the possibility to defer payments for a period of 5 years but interest will be accrued.
Agency: Ministry for Tourism and Environmental Protection
|
1 day
|
EUR 42,452
|
| * 10 |
Obtain ecological approval from the Ministry for Tourism and Environmental Protection
|
30 days
|
EUR 7,150
|
| * 11 |
Obtain traffic approval from the municipality
|
10 days
|
EUR 3
|
| 12 |
Obtain fire prevention approval
Under the Construction Law (2008) the Fire Authority must issue the approval within 6 days. However, in practice it still takes two weeks.
Agency: Municipality of Podgorica
|
15 days
|
EUR 300
|
| 13 |
Obtain a building permit from the Ministry of Economic Development
Under the new Construction Law (2008) the deadline for issuance of construction (building) permit is now set at 15 days. However, in practice due to lack of adequate manpower and technology it still takes 30 days, as before. Ministry of Economic Development is conducting a constant monitoring of the progress and helps applicants whose requests are not replied within time-limit. Applicants can only file a complaint with the local government first, and then if no reaction appeal to the local courts. In practice most companies prefer to wait rather than challenge the authorities.
The procedure for issuance of construction (building) permit is simplified. Various approvals and opinions from ministries and utilities companies that were, under the former law, required to be submitted before the issuance of the construction permit are now no longer required. Moreover, the construction permit may be issued based on the preliminary design, whereas the main design and its audit are required before the commencement of construction. This part also includes the review of location permit aspects. However, in practice most of the approvals and opinions are still required before the final decision on construction permit.
Building control process during construction has been amended as well. Under the Article 105, companies following the issuance of the building permit must notify the Construction Inspection within 7 days before the actual works begins. The notification can be done via email, provided there is a scanned copy of the building permit. Thereafter the Construction Inspection, which is a national entity, must publish the information on its website, including the schedule of inspections. It is most likely the inspections will take place at the foundation, structural and final stages of construction works. Inspections will not be requested and happen on risk-based approach. Each time the inspector will register the construction site ledger. The Construction Inspection consists of only lawyers which made the process of supervision purely a legal matter.
Agency: Licensing company
|
30 days
|
EUR 715
|
| * 14 |
Obtain water and sewerage connection
Agency: Water Supply Company
|
10 days
|
EUR 200
|
| * 15 |
Obtain telephone connection
Agency: Telecom Montenegro
|
7 days
|
EUR 80
|
| 16 |
Request and receive technical inspection for building control from the Ministry of Economic Development
The Ministry of Economic Development nominates the members of the inspection panel, which includes experts from architecture, sewage/water, technical standards, electricity, etc. Additionally, the architects which designed the project must be part of the technical inspection. This came as a result of multiple copyright violations by various builders. The cost is paid for inspection services.
|
1 day
|
EUR 2,861
|
| 17 |
Obtain building use permit from the Ministry of Economic Development
All buildings must have a building use permit in order to be able to register with the respective agency. Before, however, buildings could be registered with only a building permit and without a building use permit. The building use permit must be issued within 7 days following the final report by the inspection. However, prior to that, the competent authority has 7 days to decide on the performance of the technical inspection. Thereafter, the inspector has another 7 days to submit the final report. In practice, it still takes around 45-50 days due to various implementation issues.
|
49 days
|
EUR 1,430
|
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.